Trevor Reed’s dad backs Colin Allred in ad, says Ted Cruz did zero to free son from Russia

Skip to Main ContentSkip to footerSectionsSearchTDMNNewsBusinessSportsHigh School SportsArts & EntertainmentFoodGo See DFWOpinionSign InManage AccountePaperSubscribeSubscribe TodayStarting at 25¢Discover HoroscopesBest in DFWLife & Loss In Dallas AbodeThings to Do Podcasts ePaper ObituariesPublic NoticesHelp Center20°F26°18°AdvertisementThis is member-exclusive contenticon/ui/info fillednewsPoliticsTrevor Reed’s dad backs Colin Allred in ad, says Ted Cruz did zero to free son from RussiaCruz has said he did not take a public role to avoid antagonizing Russian leader Vladimir Putin. By Joseph MortonWashington correspondentSep. 12, 2024|Updated 10:23 a.m. CDT|3 min. readJoey and Paula Reed, parents of U.S. Marine Corps veteran and Russian prisoner Trevor Reed, talk about his release in a prisoner exchange with Russia outside their Granbury home, April 27, 2022. Russia released Reed, trading him for a Russian drug smuggler serving a long prison sentence in the U.S.(Tom Fox / Staff Photographer )WASHINGTON – Joey Reed has endorsed U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, D-Dallas, in his challenge to U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, saying the Republican incumbent did nothing to free his son from a Russian prison.Trevor Reed, a Marine veteran and Fort Worth native, was arrested in Moscow in 2019. Russian authorities said he grabbed a police officer as they drove to the station after a night of heavy drinking, causing the squad car to swerve and endangering two officers.U.S. officials denounced the charges as bogus. Reed was facing nine years behind bars, and his loved ones were desperate for help.“We were frantic. We tried to stay focused and not just break down every day crying. The first politician that we called was Ted Cruz. They basically said, ‘We’re not going to be able to help you,’” Joey Reed says in an Allred campaign ad released Thursday. “Ted Cruz didn’t lift a finger for us when everybody else in the state did. Colin Allred was right there, working with both parties to bring our son home.”Political PointsGet the latest politics news from North Texas and beyond.SIGN UPOr with: GoogleFacebookBy signing up you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy PolicyAllred faces an uphill battle as Democrats haven’t won a statewide race in Texas in three decades.To counter the state’s Republican leanings, Allred has pitched himself as a bipartisan pragmatist and cast Cruz as more focused on furthering his own political ambitions than helping Texans.AdvertisementIn the new ad, Joey Reed praises Allred’s ability to work with Republicans and points to a bipartisan resolution calling for his son’s return that Cruz did not co-sponsor.“Senator Cruz refused to help us when everybody else in the government was,” Joey Reed says 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.”It’s not the first time Joey Reed has aired complaints about Cruz. After his son was released in an April 2022 prisoner swap, he shared his frustrations in an interview with The Dallas Morning News and vowed to support whoever ran against Cruz.AdvertisementAt the time, Cruz aides responded by saying the senator had kept a low public profile regarding Trevor Reed’s detention because he didn’t want to antagonize Russian leader Vladimir Putin.AdvertisementCruz said at the time he had been repeatedly advised by administration officials that taking a public role in the case would be counterproductive because of his role fighting the Nord Stream 2 pipeline that would allow Russia to sell gas to Germany without going through Ukraine.Cruz campaign spokesperson Macarena Martinez responded to the ad by highlighting the senator’s work to bring home many Americans held overseas.“Senator Cruz was incredibly relieved for Trevor and his family when he was released from wrongful detention in Russia and safely returned home,” Martinez said in a statement. “Senator Cruz has been a leader throughout his Senate career in fighting for the return of unjustly held Americans. 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.”AdvertisementJoey Reed, who lives in Granbury, has said he wasn’t aware of significant behind-the-scenes efforts by Cruz. He has previously acknowledged he voted for President Joe Biden, but also has poured praise on  Republicans.He said U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, had been an outspoken critic of Nord Stream 2 and Putin while also publicly advocating for his son.The Reeds have praised other Texas Republicans, such as U.S. Sen. John Cornyn and U.S. Rep. August Pfluger of San Angelo, for their work on Trevor Reed’s behalf.Trevor Reed appeared in a 2022 campaign ad backing Pfluger, saying he was free because of the representative’s relentless efforts.ex.co script has been added to the pageBy Joseph MortonJoseph Morton covers the intersection of business and politics in the Washington Bureau. Before joining The News, Joseph worked for CQ Roll Call and the Omaha World-Herald. He graduated from the University of Missouri School of Journalism.Connect:AdvertisementMost Popular1Power outages drop after over 5,000 people in D-FW were without power Wednesday morning2Southwest Airlines exec key to turnaround effort is leaving3How this Dallas restaurateur changed the history of the margarita4Kentucky Fried Chicken moving to Dallas-Fort Worth? 7 restaurants HQ’d in surprising spots5Mack Brown says North Carolina exit ‘probably more political than anything else’AdvertisementAdvertisementTDMNTexas' Leading News SourceEst. 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Lyin Ted is useless and a coward and a besuited insurrectionist. Let’s show this Cruz crap nugget the door, Texas.