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In the final days of his arduous campaign for the United States Senate, the Dallas congressman Colin Allred is working overtime to secure the backbone of the Democratic Party: black voters.

In the last five days, Allred, who is running to unseat the Republican incumbent Ted Cruzhas campaigned in Houston alongside Vice President Kamala Harris, the party’s presidential candidate; Beyoncé, the international pop star and Houston native; and Raphael Warnock, Georgia’s first black senator.

On Tuesday night, Allred wrapped up a five-day tour of Houston with a rally at Texas Southern University, a historically black college, where he was introduced by Warnock, who rose to fame as senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church. , Dr. Martin Luther. King Jr.’s former congregation

Allred described Cruz as an absentee senator who fled the state for Cancun while millions of people suffered during a winter freeze in 2021. He criticized Cruz for trying to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and for supporting policies that he says have led to the almost total ban on abortion in Texas.

The Allred rally was also present Samantha CasianoA Texas woman who had to give birth to a baby who her doctors said would not live more than a day due to a rare and fatal condition that prevents a child’s brain and skull from forming properly. Her daughter only lived almost four hours after her birth.

“We have a senator who is too small for our state and we have one week to do something about it,” Allred told the crowd of a few hundred people as speakers encouraged attendees to participate in block walks and phone banks. “We have to make sure we get the vote out.”

First up: Georgia Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock takes the stage at Sawyer Auditorium on the campus of Texas Southern University to encourage people to get out and vote for Colin Allred. Latest: Allred speaks on the steps of Houston City Hall at the 10,000 Black Men rally on Sunday, October 27. Credit: Douglas Sweet Jr. for The Texas Tribune

Allred is the loser in the race against Cruz, a two-term Republican senator, in a state that has not elected a Democrat to state office in 30 years. So his hopes of making the race competitive depend on getting the core of the Democratic base, a large portion of whom are black voters, counted.

Je’Von Tone, a 22-year-old campus student, said he had been waiting for Allred to visit the university since the start of the campaign. I was excited that Allred brought Warnock with him and was appealing to young, black voters.

“This race is going to be very, very close, especially for people in my age group, because we tend to have the lowest turnout,” Tone said. “So you’re going to do your best to make every stop you can go to: schools, churches, homes, block walks, phone banking and any get-out-the-vote efforts you can make.”

While in Houston, Allred shared the stage with Harris and Beyoncé at a packed event with more than 20,000 people at Shell Energy Stadium on Friday; organized a rally of 10,000 black men from Greater Houston on Saturday; and chaired roundtables with Black business leaders on Tuesday.

Those recent developments have projected a sense of urgency for an Allred campaign that flew under the radar and tried to appeal to moderate and independent Republican voters for much of the race. Now, his campaign is putting all-out pressure on the Democratic base.

Candice Matthews, president of the Texas Coalition of Black Democrats, said Allred has been in touch with her group throughout the race and has strong recognition among black voters. But the appearance at Texas Southern was a strategically smart move, he said.

“This is a great step, coming to an HBCU and showing students that they matter,” he said.

She’Deja Martin, a 20-year-old student at the rally, said she wanted to know more about Allred. She planned to vote for him because she didn’t like Cruz, but said she had just found out about the Democratic candidate last week. She thought Allred’s stop at school would help him among his fellow students.

“(But) it may have helped to arrive a little earlier because a lot of people already voted,” he said.

In recent days, Allred has begun making more open appeals to black voters. Last week, in a fundraising text message to supporters, he noted that he would be the state’s first Black senator and said that “Black Americans have long faced too many obstacles like discrimination and racist suppression laws.” voters that Texas Republicans like Ted Cruz have championed. .”

During the roundtable with Black business leaders, Allred was joined by former City Councilman Dwight Boykins and state senator. Borris Miles of Houston, which represents a majority African-American district. Miles offered his help in the final days of the election.

“We’re just here in the fight,” he said. “We’re trying to get you across the line.”

Boykins said Allred was visiting Houston at a crucial time. Most voters are only now deciding who they will vote for, and their choice in the Senate race will likely follow their choice in the presidential election. Allred running TV ads and visiting major cities will help get his name recognized when voters make that decision.

“I think his name identification is strong enough in the commercials he puts out, credible enough, to get him where he’s trying to go,” Boykins said.

Also on Tuesday, Allred held a roundtable with women who have been affected by the state’s near-total ban on abortion and their doctors, where she promised to codify Roe v. Wade as law if elected.

Allred will head to the Rio Grande Valley on Wednesday, where he will look to enlist the support of another core base of his party: Hispanic voters.

Disclosure: Texas Southern University – The Barbara Jordan-Mickey Leland School of Public Affairs has provided financial support to The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in Tribune journalism. find a complete list of them here.