Liz Cheney and Mary Trump Rip into ‘Supply Closet’ Ted Cruz After Debate

Former Representative Liz Cheney and Mary Trump took to social media to rip Senator Ted Cruz after his debate against Representative Colin Allred on Tuesday evening.
Allred is challenging Cruz for his Senate seat in Texas in a contentiously close race. The pair faced each other in their first debate this election cycle earlier this week. The fiery event covered abortion, immigration and a slew of other hot-button issues.
Polls out this month show Cruz holding a slim majority against Allred. A survey conducted by the University of Houston between September 26 and October 10 among likely voters showed Cruz at a four-point lead with a 2.69 percent margin of error.
According to tracking from FiveThirtyEight, Cruz is up by 4 points on average across statewide polling, although the gap has been closing in recent weeks.
On Wednesday, Mary Trump, a fervent critic of her uncle, former President Donald Trump, reacted to the debate between Cruz and Allred, saying on X, formerly Twitter, “I heard Ted Cruz is hiding in the supply closet again after last night’s debate.”
Cheney reposted a clip of Allred’s debate performance on X, writing, “#SupplyClosetTed.”
Newsweek reached out to Cruz’s campaign via email Wednesday evening for comment.
During the debate, Allred took a swipe at Cruz about his alleged actions on January 6, 2021, when Trump supporters rioted and protested the 2020 election results of President Joe Biden’s victory.
“When that mob came, Senator Cruz was hiding in a supply closet,” Allred said. “That’s OK; I don’t want him to get hurt by the mob, I really don’t…You cannot just be patriotic when your side wins.”
Allred also noted during the debate that he has Cheney’s support, who served on the Special House Committee tasked with investigating the attacks on January 6.
Following Tuesday’s debate, a Cruz campaign spokesperson told Newsweek, “The only thing that is surprising from the outcome of this debate is that Colin Allred’s pants didn’t catch on fire from the amount of lying he did on stage.
“Sen. Cruz laid out his record, which has brought countless jobs to Texas, supported law enforcement, protected our children, and more. When Colin Allred wasn’t lying, he was dodging questions and throwing meaningless attacks.”
Republicans are poised to take control of the upper chamber of Congress this November, with the party aiming to flip Senate seats in Ohio and Montana. Democrats hold a slim majority in the Senate but are losing a handful of key players, including West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, an independent who caucuses with the Democratic Party.
Democrats have reacted to the pressure by setting their sights on Cruz’s seat. The Republican incumbent narrowly won his reelection bid in 2018 to then-Democratic nominee Beto O’Rouke, and some GOP groups have raised concerns that Texas could be a surprise win for their opponents in November.
Florida Senator Rick Scott, who is running for a second term, has also been targeted by Democrats this election. Polling has shown that former Representative Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, Scott’s Democratic challenger, is only a few points away from taking the seat.
In a poll released by Marist College earlier in October, out of 1,410 registered voters, Scott was leading Mucarsel-Powell 50 percent to 48 percent. On average, per FiveThirtyEight’s tracking, Scott is up by 4.6 points across statewide polls, although that gap has continued to close as Election Day inches closer.