Texas Dem's Senate ad features border wall he once blasted as 'racist'

Rep. Colin Allred, D-Texas, featured the southern border wall in a recent Senate campaign ad despite having previously claimed the wall proposed by former President Trump was "racist." 

The Democrat was seen in a July campaign ad walking with law enforcement along a portion of the border wall as he hit Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, for opposing a border measure backed by Democrats in the upper chamber. 

However, Allred has had a long history of opposing the border wall and other elements of Trump and Republicans' efforts to secure the border. 

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Both Harris and Allred have used the border wall in campaign ads despite opposing it before. (Reuters)

In fact, at an event in 2018, Allred told attendees, "If they build that racist wall, my generation is the one that will tear it down. You're not going to have a wall in this country."

As a representative, he has voted against countless bills that would institute strict changes to address the crisis at the southern border. Most notably, he opposed the H.R. 2 Secure the Border Act, which had been advocated by House and Senate Republicans. The legislation is understood to propose the toughest crackdown on the southern border and illegal immigration in consideration.

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Rep. Colin Allred, D-Texas (Emil Lippe/Getty Images)

He also voted for a resolution to end the national emergency declaration that then-President Trump had made for the southern border and in favor of legislation that would limit the president's ability to suspend or restrict the ability of illegal immigrants to enter the country, among other controversial measures. 

"Congressman Allred is laser focused on solutions supported by both parties to fix our broken immigration system and secure our border. Ted Cruz has been in the Senate 12 years and has nothing to show for it. He tanked bipartisan legislation that would secure our border. Lyin’ Ted only cares about himself, and Texans know he will never be part of a real solution," Allred spokesperson Josh Stewart told Fox News Digital in a statement. 

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Cruz is currently favored to win the Texas race. (Getty Images)

While the border bill in question was negotiated by bipartisan Sens. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz, and James Lankford, R-Okla, Republicans have largely rejected the resulting bill and were vocal critics of the negotiations as they were taking place. 

After the long-awaited release of the negotiated bill this year, Republicans promptly rejected it. 

Some members of the Republican conference in the Senate have even said the measure would have made the current border crisis worse. 

While some have pointed to Trump's opposition to the bill as the reason it did not succeed, one Senate Republican told Fox News Digital it would have failed either way. But they said they imagine Trump is happy to take credit. 

In the most recent procedural vote on the border bill, two of the three negotiators, Sinema and Lankford, voted it down. 

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Harris also used the border wall in campaign ads. (Doug Mills/The New York Times/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Another Republican criticism of the bill has been that the president currently enjoys the authority to address many of the concerns at the border right now and doesn't need additional congressional permission to fix the crisis. 

Allred is not the only Democrat who has apparently changed their tune on the border wall as concerns about illegal immigration surge. Vice President Harris, who is running as the Democrat nominee for president, has also used the Trump-era border wall in campaign advertisements portraying her as strong on the southern border. 

Trump's campaign slammed Harris over this, with a spokesperson previously saying that statements that Harris now supports Trump's border wall are "preposterous and false claim(s)."

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A top political handicapper, the Cook Political Report, rated the Texas Senate race "likely Republican," with Cruz boasting a significant advantage. However, given the Democrats' relatively unfavorable Senate election map, the Texas and Florida Senate races are their best pickup opportunities.

Allred has spent far more on the race than Cruz so far, with millions more spent on past ad spending and on future reservations ahead of the election.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.