**Ted Cruz Accuses Democrats of Exceeding Campaign Contribution Limits**

Senator Ted Cruz has leveled accusations against national Democrats, claiming they have surpassed legal contribution limits to support his electoral rival, U.S. Representative Colin Allred. According to Cruz, the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee (DSCC) has unlawfully spent over $10 million on television advertisements in Texas, exceeding the Federal Election Commission (FEC) guidelines which cap coordinated spending at approximately $2.8 million for Senate candidates in Texas.

The issue revolves around the use of "hybrid ads," which permit national party groups to exceed coordinated spending limits by allocating half of each ad's airtime to "generically referenced candidates." Cruz's complaint concentrates on four specific ads created by the Allred campaign and the DSCC. He argues that these ads do not meet the FEC’s criteria. One ad, which discusses abortion and features Texas woman Kate Cox, reportedly lacks references to "generically referenced candidates." The other ads, though mentioning Cruz and images of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, allegedly fall short of targeting general Republican candidates, according to Cruz.

However, recent FEC rulings have not clarified whether similar instances breach election laws. In an October 10 decision, the FEC was deadlocked on a related complaint by Democrats regarding references to "greedy politicians" and former President Donald Trump, questioning if these count as references to generic Republican candidates.

The deadlock means no definitive legal determination was made, allowing candidates to proceed under existing practices. This ruling came after the DSCC filed a complaint about the Republican use of hybrid ads to secure lower advertising rates.

Amanda Sherman Baity, a spokesperson for the DSCC, stated, "The DSCC is running the same kind of advertisements that the NRSC, the Republican National Committee, and Republican members of the FEC all argued are legal - and that are being run by Republican Senate campaigns across the country. Ted Cruz is doing whatever he can to try and distract Texans from his support for a ban on all abortions and his self-serving politics."

The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) has also employed hybrid ads, splitting airtime between broad issues and attacks on specific candidates. For example, in Arizona, an ad jointly created by the NRSC and Republican candidate Kari Lake discusses border drug issues while targeting Democrat Ruben Gallego. Similar ads in Nevada and Maryland focus part of their airtime on criticizing "politicians."

So far, the NRSC has invested nearly $2.8 million on ads supporting Cruz's campaign, according to the tracking firm AdImpact.

In a landscape where political advertising strategies are increasingly scrutinized, the debate over what constitutes fair campaign practices is likely to continue, especially as parties seek to maximize their impact with limited resources.