Texas Congressman Colin Allred will face Sen. Ted Cruz in November

DALLAS — Congressman Colin Allred, D-Texas, has won the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate, according to a race call by The Associated Press, and will now face Republican Sen. Ted Cruz in the November general election.

Allred, 40, is a former professional football player who first won a seat in Congress in 2018. He's been endorsed by big labor groups such as the Texas AFL-CIO and has stressed his support for abortion rights.

Allred finished well ahead in Tuesday's nine-candidate Democratic primary, while state Sen. Roland Gutierrez came in second.

Cruz easily dispatched minor opposition in the GOP primary.

Where Allred and Gutierrez differed

Throughout the campaign, Allred and Gutierrez highlighted their different stances on pressing issues such as border security and the Israel-Hamas war.

Gutierrez has been vocal in support of a cease-fire in the war, while Allred has said he doesn't support a cease-fire without conditions.

"A cease-fire without conditions would mean that all these [Israeli] hostages ... that Hamas still holds would remain hostages," Allred said during a January debate hosted by the Texas AFL-CIO.

On border security, Allred has said he believes something needs to happen on the federal level to address the influx of unauthorized migrants at the southern border. Earlier this year, he supported a Republican-led resolution denouncing President Biden's "open borders policies."

Gutierrez accused the congressman of throwing Biden under the bus, saying the move was "just for political expediency."

Gutierrez also attacked Allred over his opposition to a single-payer health insurance system, like Medicare for All.

Gutierrez made gun control a pillar of his platform. He represents Uvalde, Texas, the town