Democratic Senate hopeful Colin Allred acknowledged his party has “had some backsliding” when it comes to Latino support, a voting block that has drifted towards Republicans in recent election cycles. 

In an interview Tuesday with NBC News, the Texas congressman, who is vying to unseat Republican Sen. Ted Cruz in November, was asked why he thinks Latino voters have increasingly voted against Democrats and what his message to them was, particularly those living along the southern border.

Allred initially dodged the question, telling the reporter he “spent a lot of [his] childhood” in South Texas before attacking Cruz for opposing the bipartisan border security bill. 

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“Treat folks with respect and understand that every voter in our state with the Latino, African American, Asian, White, we are all looking, I think, for somebody who sees us, who cares about us, who actually go to work everyday for us, not somebody like Ted Cruz,” Allred said. 

“But why do you think Democrats have struggled in recent years with Latino voters? Why isn’t that message resonating?” NBC News’ Priscilla Thompson asked. 

“I’m not sure that we have, and I know we’ve had some backsliding, but I think it’s also just true that we have to make our pitch that every election is a different election,” Allred responded. “And I recognize, particularly in South Texas, what makes our economy go down there- I’m going to be someone who’s going to be very good for that. I recognize that we have some issues that we do have to deal with.” 

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He continued “And I think at times, maybe Democrats have been seen as not wanting to address those issues. I certainly will. I do want to have a secure border, but I want to do it in a humane way that’s consistent with our values, which I think is the opposite of the approach that Ted Cruz would take. But this is going to be a unique election, not about the past, it’ll be about me, hopefully, versus Ted Cruz and our very differing visions of where the state can go and who we are.”

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Allred also repeatedly dodged questions whether he planned to campaign with President Biden, telling Thompson “anybody is welcome to come, but my message remains the same.”

“And so, if Biden plans to come, will you join him?” Thompson asked. 

“I don’t know if he is, but listen, like I said, whoever comes, whether it’s Trump or Biden or anybody else, you will not hear anything different from me, which is that I’m focused on Texas,” Allred said.

Allred went on to win the Democratic primary during Super Tuesday and will take on Cruz in November. 

Democrats have long aimed to turn Texas blue like they have in Georgia and Arizona in recent elections but have repeatedly fallen short. Most recently was during the 2022 midterm elections when former congressman and 2020 candidate Beto O’Rourke failed to unseat Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who won by over a 10-point margin despite all the media coverage surrounding O’Rourke’s campaign.