Texas senator Ted Cruz appeared at Shiner Park on Friday night as a part of his 53-stop bus tour around Texas for his reelection campaign. The junior senator held a rally with two Republican politicians that focused on jobs, security and freedom.

Cruz spoke on issues pertaining to the economy and border security, with special attention to immigration as well as inflation. His opponent, Democratic candidate Colin Allred, was mentioned repeatedly throughout the night. With Cruz having won his seat by a tight margin in 2018, the senator is once again facing a reelection bid that has nationwide polls predicting a close race.

Duane Peterson, Brazos County judge, and Roger Marshall, a Kansas senator, introduced Cruz and spoke about the importance of the upcoming election. Cruz has recently received an endorsement from former President Donald Trump, referencing polling numbers for Cruz showing a one-point lead.

“Has there ever been a starker difference between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris?” Cruz said. “And I gotta say, in the Texas senate race, I know there has never been a starker difference between me and Colin Allred.”

On Tuesday, Cruz and Allred met for the only debate for the Texas junior senate seat, which is one of the few elections across the country that may determine which political party controls the senate. The margins of victory for Texas Republicans have been steadily declining since 2012, leaving Trump with the narrowest Texas win for a Republican candidate since 1996.

“I think elections should be about records of both candidates, and their vision for Texas. In my 12 years in the senate, I’ve had three key priorities: jobs, freedom and security,” Cruz said.

Cruz cited his support of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act under Trump, which has been described as the widest sweeping tax overhaul in decades. Many of the tax cut provisions are set to expire in 2025, including individual income tax cuts. Economic studies have shown that the act increased the federal debt and after-tax income for the most affluent Americans, with moderate effects on gross domestic product and wages.

“You want to understand just how out of step Colin Allred is with the people of Texas? He has voted repeatedly in favor of boys competing against girls in sports,” Cruz said. “How many of y’all saw the two biological men competing in the Olympics competing in, quote, women’s boxing? It was disgraceful, it was ridiculous and it’s just not fair.”

Cruz’s statements refer to Algerian boxer Imane Khelif and Taipei’s Lin Yu-ting, who were both determined to be female and eligible to compete in female boxing by the International Olympic Committee. Cruz’s past statements on transgender individuals have drawn criticisms from national leaders and politicians.

“We have seen 11 and a half million illegal aliens come into this country; it is an invasion and it is the worst illegal immigration in our nation’s history,” Cruz said. “I’m here to tell you right now, when Donald Trump is reelected, in January of next year, we are going to start to find and arrest every one of those.”

Research from across the nation support’s Cruz’s statements, with the population of immigrants without legal permission reaching 11 million in 2022. Cruz ended his speech urging his supporters to donate to his campaign and to vote in the upcoming election.

“This is an election about keeping Texas, Texas,” Cruz said. “There’s a lot of reasons people come to Texas, but the biggest reason is for jobs. We have low taxes. We have low regulations. In my view, if you think Texas is doing something really right, we have to make sure to protect it and not screw it up.”