US ELECTIONS: Cruz, oil and gas stalwart, narrowly holds US Senate seat

US Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is projected to win his reelection bid, helping Republicans achieve their goal of taking back control of the Senate.

Cruz, a strong supporter of US oil and gas production, was leading US Representative Colin Allred (D-Texas), the Democratic challenger, by about 10 percentage points with 84% of votes counted shortly after the Associated Press called the race at 11:39 pm ET on Nov. 5.

Cruz was elected to the US Senate in 2012 and reelected in 2018.

During a debate in October, Cruz weathered attacks from Allred for flying from Houston to Cancún, Mexico, amid a February 2021 winter storm that left millions of Texans without power.

As a senator, Cruz has sponsored a range of legislations to strengthen Texas' position as the top energy-producing state in the nation.

Texas pumped 5.82 million b/d of crude oil in August, according to the latest US Energy Information Administration data, outpacing OPEC heavyweight Iraq, which produced 4.2 million b/d in September, according to the latest Platts OPEC survey by S&P Global Commodity Insights.