‘Why do you keep asking me that?’: Ted Cruz won’t tell you his stance on abortion no matter how many times you ask

Ted Cruz’s stubbornness seemingly knows no bounds, as he recently demonstrated by repeatedly refusing to disclose his policy opinions on abortion. The ultra-conservative Texas senator is currently fighting to retain his seat in Congress this election cycle. So far, it hasn’t been as smooth of a road to victory as Cruz was probably expecting. 

Though still considered a long shot, Cruz’s Democratic opponent, Colin Allred, has been gaining steam. The latest data from the Cook Political Report has changed its election predictions for the Texas Senate seat from “Likely Republican” to “Leaning Republican.” It’s not a huge shift, but it does indicate that Cruz isn’t resonating with the people of Texas as much as he used to.

On October 15, there was a debate between Cruz and Allred, and Cruz was … not great. While Allred appeared calm and confident, Cruz seemed constantly frazzled and defensive. Cruz had many low points during the debate, but when the topic of abortion was brought up, he grew particularly irritated.

Broaching the topic, the moderator brought up Texas’ current abortion ban, which is one of the strictest in the U.S., with no exceptions for rape or incest. The moderator pointedly asked Cruz for his personal opinion about whether abortion bans should include those exceptions. Cruz began deflecting and evading at a level that would make any dodgeball champ jealous.

When he was first asked about his abortion stance, Cruz said this was an issue that should be “decided at the ballot box” by voters, and quickly pivoted to focus on his opponent’s Congressional voting record. In fact, Cruz’s go-to talking points seemed to center entirely around Allred’s stance on parental notification for minors seeking abortions and “late-term” abortions (not a real thing, btw).

Allred fired back with specific examples of cases where Texas women weren’t able to get the care they needed due to the abortion ban. “I trust Texas women to make their own health care decisions,” he asserted. 

Because Cruz completely failed to answer the question, the moderator once again asked Cruz if he supports or opposes exceptions for rape and incest. Cruz began with a promising “I wanna be very clear.” But instead of following up with any actual clarity about his views, Cruz yet again stomped his feet and ranted about Allred’s record. 

Kudos to the debate moderator for not letting the issue go. He addressed Cruz a third time, asking, “Why is this an issue you won’t address?” Apparently, having run out of directions to pivot towards, the Texas senator became annoyed and snapped,  “Why do you keep asking me that?” Cruz complained that he “asked Congressman Allred twice about his voting record,” but didn’t get an answer. 

Cruz’s strategy here is baffling because he’s acting like he doesn’t understand how political debates work. Here’s the thing about debates: moderators ask candidates questions, which they then answer so voters can understand their stance on certain hot-button issues. Cruz loves to say that questions about abortion should be decided by voters on election day, but he isn’t forthcoming with his own opinions. How are the people of Texas supposed to decide anything if they don’t know what he stands for?  

Obviously, Cruz knows that even among the anti-abortion crowd, not providing exceptions for rape or incest isn’t a popular opinion. His constant avoidance of the topic suggests he doesn’t believe there should be any exceptions to an abortion ban. If that’s the case, Cruz likely knows he’s in the minority on this, so we should expect him to remain tight-lipped about the matter.