Colin Allred, a UC Berkeley law grad who’s running to unseat Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, met his opponent on the debate stage for the first time Tuesday, and it was a spicy affair. Allred, a Democrat who represents Dallas and neighboring suburbs in the U.

Cruz sought to link Allred to Vice President Kamala Harris at nearly every opportunity and painted the three-term Dallas congressman as out of step.

Sen. Ted Cruz takes the stage tonight against his Senate challenger Democratic Rep. Colin Allred in the Texas race's only debate. Democrats view the contest as one of few opportunities to make up seats in the Senate,