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WASHINGTON — Two years ago, Joey Reed excoriated U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz for not doing more to help free his son Trevor, who was being held captive in Russia. Now his son is free, and father and son are working to help kick Cruz out of office.
Joey Reed announced his support for Democrat U.S. Rep. Colin Allred — who is running against Cruz — in an ad released Thursday morning.
“When my son Trevor Reed was detained by the Russian police, he was given nine years. We were frantic. We tried to stay focused and not just break down every day crying,” Joey Reed said in the ad. “The first politician we called was Ted Cruz. They basically said, ‘Oh we’re not going to be able to help you.’ Ted Cruz didn’t lift a finger for us when everybody else in the state did.”
Trevor Reed echoed the call to oust Cruz on social media, shorty after the ad went public.
“That’s my Dad everyone!” Trevor Reed wrote, linking to the ad. “Remember if you’re a Texan and you’re voting this year that Ted Cruz doesn’t care about you. Vote for a man who will.”
Trevor Reed, a Marine veteran from Granbury, was arrested in Russia in 2019 on charges of assaulting a police officer during a trip to visit his Russian girlfriend in Moscow. He and the U.S. government denied the charges. He was incarcerated for nearly three years of his nine-year prison sentence until he was freed in a prisoner swap in April 2022.
Cruz’s office didn’t dispute Joey Reed’s account at the time. He previously said he did not get involved in the rescue effort because he was worried his involvement could make things worse.
“We were repeatedly advised by Administration officials that my taking a public role in this specific case would be counterproductive, and that because of my role fighting to stop the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, leaders in Russia may well have linked the two issues,” Cruz’s office said in a statement to The Dallas Morning News in 2022.
Cruz had jousted with Russian President Vladimir Putin as one of the biggest opponents in the Senate to Russia’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline. The infrastructure project would have delivered natural gas directly to Germany from Russia. Members of both parties in the Senate opposed the natural gas pipeline for solidifying Western European reliance on Russian natural gas and for bringing Russian infrastructure into NATO territory. The pipeline was a major priority for both Putin and the German government, but was never brought on line due to the war in Ukraine.
Cruz told the newspaper at the time that he “would have eagerly taken a public role loudly calling for Trevor’s release, but I believed that the best way for me to help was to vigorously press the Administration behind the scenes and work through the State Department to bring Trevor home as soon as possible.”
In a statement to The Texas Tribune responding to Allred’s latest ad, Cruz spokesperson Macarena Martinez said Cruz was “incredibly relieved for Trevor and his family when he was released from wrongful detention in Russia and safely returned home.”
“Senator Cruz has been a leader throughout his Senate career in fighting for the return of unjustly held Americans,” Martinez’s statement continued. “He has been instrumental in bringing home American hostages from Lebanon and Venezuela, and is fighting daily to secure the release of Mark Swidan from China.”
Swidan, a Houston resident, has been held in China for over a decade on drug charges after drugs were found on his driver and translator. The Chinese government sentenced him to death in 2019. Cruz has also advocated for other prisoner releases, including Houston freelance journalist Austin Tice, who was captured in Syria in 2012, and WNBA player Brittney Griner, who was detained in Russia in 2022. Griner, a Houston native, was released later that year as part of a prisoner swap.
The Reeds were not impressed with Cruz’s justification in 2022. McCaul, the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Cornyn, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, have also been loudly antagonistic toward the Russian government. Both overtly pushed the administration for Trevor Reed’s release.
“He didn’t do anything,” Joey Reed said of Cruz to The Dallas Morning News in 2022. “He’s an embarrassment to the state of Texas, let me just say that. I don’t care what or who runs against him, I will work for their campaign to defeat that son of a bitch.”
Joey Reed, who is a retired marine like his son, advocated with both President Joe Biden’s and former President Donald Trump’s administrations to free Trevor. He worked with Texas lawmakers in both parties, including Sen. John Cornyn and Reps. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, August Pfluger, R-San Angelo, Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston, and Allred.
Joey Reed voted for Biden in 2020, but he praised members of both parties for helping free his son.
“The thing I like about Colin is he listens, he can relate to almost everyone. He’s willing to reach across the aisle,” Joey Reed said in the ad. “Our elected officials, they’re accountable not only for their actions but for their inactions. Ted Cruz is not here for Texas. Ted Cruz is here for Ted Cruz.”
Allred is pouring money into digital and televised advertising to amplify his name across the state. Allred is running uphill in his challenge against Cruz, with Cruz enjoying near-universal name recognition and benefiting from Trump leading the Republican ticket. Allred, meanwhile, has had to make himself familiar outside of his Dallas home base in the state’s biggest markets.
Voting FAQ: 2024 Elections
When is the next election? What dates do I need to know?
Election Day for the general election is November 5, and early voting will run from Oct. 21 to Nov. 1. The deadline to register to vote and/or change your voter registration address is Oct. 7. Applications to vote by mail must be received by your county of residence – not postmarked – by Oct. 25.
What’s on the ballot for the general election?
In addition to the president, eligible Texans have the opportunity to cast their ballots for many Texas officials running for office at the federal, state and local levels.
This includes representatives in the U.S. and Texas houses and the following elected offices:
-1 U.S Senator (Ted Cruz)
– 1 of 3 Railroad Commissioners
– 15 State Senators
– 7 State Board of Education members
– 3 members of the Texas Supreme Court
– 3 members of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
– 5 Chief Justices and various justices for Texas Courts of Appeals
Lower-level judges and local county offices will also appear on the ballot:
– Various district judges, including on criminal and family courts
– County Courts at Law
– Justices of the Peace
– District Attorneys
– County Attorneys
– Sheriffs
– Constables
– Tax Assessor-Collectors
How do I make sure I’m registered to vote?
You can check to see if you’re registered and verify your information through the Texas Secretary of State’s website. You’ll need one of the following three combinations to log in: Your Texas driver’s license number and date of birth. Your first and last names, date of birth and county you reside in. Your date of birth and Voter Unique Identifier, which appears on your voter registration certificate.
What if I missed the voter registration deadline?
You must be registered to vote in a Texas county by Oct. 7 to vote in the Nov. 5 presidential election. You can still register for other elections.
If you’re registered but didn’t update your address by the deadline, you may still be able to vote at your previous voting location or on a limited ballot. (Voters are typically assigned precincts based on where they live. In most major counties, voters can vote anywhere on Election Day, but some counties require you vote within your precinct. If that is the case, you may have to return to your previous precinct. See which counties allow countywide Election Day voting here. You can usually find your precinct listed on your voter registration certificate or on when checking your registration online.)
If you moved from one county to another, you may be able to vote on a ballot limited to the elections you would qualify to vote in at both locations, such as statewide races. However, limited ballots are only available during early voting. Find your county election official here and contact them to ask about or request a limited ballot.
What can I do if I have questions about voting?
You can contact your county elections official or call the Texas Secretary of State’s helpline at 1-800-252-VOTE (8683). A coalition of voting rights groups is also helping voters navigate election concerns through the 866-OUR-VOTE (687-8683) voter-protection helpline. The coalition also has hotlines available for voters who speaker other languages or have accessibility needs.
For help in Spanish, call 888-VE-Y-VOTA or 888-839-8682.
For help in Asian languages, call 888-API-VOTE or 888-274-8683.
For help in Arabic, call 888-YALLA-US or 888-925-5287.
For help in American Sign Language through a video, call 301-818-VOTE or 301-818-8683.
For help from Disability Rights Texas, call 888-796-VOTE or 888-796-8683.
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