Ted Cruz of Texas is headed back to Washington after he turned back a challenge from Democratic Rep. Colin Allred, NBC News projects ... senator in such a red state was a long shot. And Cruz's party affiliation was perhaps his most valuable asset.

U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, a former NFL linebacker and civil rights lawyer from Dallas, repeatedly broke fundraising records in his campaign, raising more than $80 million by mid-October.

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, of Texas, sought to fend off an underdog challenge Tuesday from Democratic Rep. Colin Allred in one of the year's most expensive races, which is testing shifts in America's biggest red state and could factor into the fight for U.S. Senate control.