Colin Allred, the Democrat challenging Ted Cruz’s Texas Senate seat, received a multimillion-dollar investment from Senate Democrats.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee said Thursday that it is spending millions on television ads for Senate races in Texas and Florida.

“Senate Democrats are expanding the map and moving offensively,” Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chairman Sen. Gary Peters said in a statement.

“Throughout the cycle, DSCC has been preparing to take advantage of the Sens’ weak position. Cruz and Scott in their respective states – and now our efforts in Texas and Florida are accelerating. Democrats have strong candidates running successful campaigns in both states, and as we escalate with our communications against Sens. Cruz and Scott, we will crystallize the case against them.

The DSCC did not specify exactly how much money was invested in advertising in each state.

The late-cycle investment shows Democrats are serious about the surprisingly close race in Texas.

Both the Texas and Florida Senate seats were targeted by the party for flipping, wanting to maintain a slim majority.

A state poll conducted in September showed Cruz with a lead of two to five points, per poll aggregator FiveThirtyEight. A recent Morning Consult poll shows Allred is one point ahead for the first time.

Cruz has served in the Senate in heavily Republican Texas since 2013 and is currently seeking a third term.

He last won the seat in 2018 by just a 2.6% margin over Democrat Beto O’Rourke, which was then the tightest Texas Senate race in decades.

Newsweek contacted the Allred and Cruz offices via email outside of normal business hours.

In a post on X, Allred shared an article about the new investment and wrote: “Ted Cruz was already the most vulnerable Republican senator, and now we are going to really wear him out. These additional resources will help us make him a full-time podcaster.”

Allred referred to Cruz’s podcast, Verdict with Ted Cruzwhich has been the subject of an ethics debate over concerns that it violates rules prohibiting lobbyists from giving gifts to senators.

“Colin Allred has gained widespread support from Texans and our campaign has gained significant momentum,” Allred’s campaign manager, Paige Hutchinson, said in a statement. Texas Tribune.

“Ted Cruz is weaker and more vulnerable than ever because of his failure to secure the border, his extreme abortion ban that put women at risk, his efforts to cut Social Security and Medicare, and the fact that he only cared about himself.”