WASHINGTON 鈥� On Super Tuesday, U.S. Rep. his voting day 鈥溾�榝it check鈥� on TikTok.
His brown boots were from the brand Thursday. His navy slacks were from Bonobos. And his shirt? 鈥淲ho knows?鈥� he laughed with his wife, as he mimicked a popular trend on the app where users share their outfits of the day.
鈥淧ut on your coolest fits and head to your nearest polling place!鈥� his caption said, encouraging Texans to vote for him in Texas鈥� Democratic primary for U.S. Senate.
Eight days later and after winning the primary outright, Allred voted for legislation that could ban the app in the name of national security. The bill, called the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, would prohibit use of the app in the U.S. if TikTok鈥檚 Chinese-owned parent company ByteDance doesn鈥檛 sell its stake and relinquish control of its algorithm within six months of the bill鈥檚 enactment 鈥� a rapid turn around for such a costly and complicated transaction.
Allred posted three times on TikTok the day of his vote 鈥� which was noticed by his followers.
鈥淏rooooooooooo, we voted for you. But you Voted against us,鈥� a user named Savannah commented on one of Allred鈥檚 post the day of the vote.
鈥淭ikTok is the only reason I heard of you before the primaries. Why would you vote to ban it? That is so disappointing,鈥� wrote another user named 鈥淪tardust and Serendipity.鈥�
The Dallas Democrat was not an outlier for his vote which passed in the House. Nearly every Texan in Congress, Republican or Democrat, voted for the ban with the exception of Reps. of Austin, of Houston and of San Antonio 鈥� who are all Democrats. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas, who has the delegation鈥檚 largest TikTok following, voted present. But among those who supported the ban, only Allred and Rep. , D-El Paso, have TikTok accounts 鈥� and only Allred actively uses the app.
Allred, who used the app as recently as Saturday, is by far the most prolific poster in the Texas delegation. His posts have popped up every few days since he launched his account while advertising his Senate campaign last October. He鈥檚 used the account to U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, who he鈥檒l face off against in November. He鈥檚 accrued nearly 5,000 followers and over 45,000 likes.
鈥淥ur national security is paramount and we must work together to ensure apps like TikTok are free from the harmful and malicious influence of the Chinese Communist Party,鈥濃�� Allred, who sits on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a statement after his vote, stressing that he considers the bill a tool to pressure an ownership change, rather than a ban. 鈥淎pps like TikTok are so important to creators and businesses in Texas and across the country, and that is why I urge Republicans and Democrats to continue to work together to preserve this app.鈥�
Allred declined to answer questions about its own use of the app.
鈥淲hy do you have a Tiktok, if it is such a threat to your data, sir?,鈥� another TikTok user commented on one of Allred鈥檚 posts.
Escobar, who voted for the bill as well, has only posted three times in 2023. She鈥檚 occasionally featured in Allred鈥檚 videos. She did not respond to request for comment.
The TikTok legislation has not yet been taken up by the Senate, but members of the upper chamber are expected to rework the bill. Neither Cruz nor Sen. John Cornyn have public TikTok accounts.
Cornyn has for the House鈥檚 version of the bill. Cruz has been less clear about whether he would support the legislation.
President Joe Biden has said he would sign TikTok legislation, despite the White House鈥檚 use of the app. In an with ABC, Vice President Kamala Harris was asked about the campaign鈥檚 TikTok usage and she emphasized that they take issue with the app鈥檚 owner but have no intention to ban TIkTok because they understand its 鈥渦tility and the enjoyment that it gives a lot of folks.鈥� Harris said the campaign will reassess if it will remain on the app should TikTok be banned.
One Republican who opposes the TikTok legislation is former U.S. Rep. Mayra Flores of Los Indios 鈥� who has 42,000 followers and is running this November to unseat Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-McAllen.
Flores said that if she was still in Congress, she would have voted against the bill. Her TikTok features a post specifically calling out Gonzalez for voting for the legislation.
She said it was 鈥渁bsolutely鈥� hypocritical of members who frequently post on the app to vote for the bill.
She noted that it鈥檚 been a powerful tool in connecting with voters as she campaigns for reelection.鈥淎 lot of young people as well have reached out to me and saying, 鈥楬ey, thank you, thanks for being on this platform,鈥� she said in an interview. 鈥淭hey felt that they only saw, you know, people on the left, and that it was refreshing to see somebody with conservative views. Views that they shared on this platform."
Jackson Lee, who voted against the bill, also used the app prominently as she campaigned last year to be the next Houston mayor 鈥� a race she lost before jumping back into her House reelection campaign.
Casar also voted against the bill and posts regularly, with 10 videos this past March ranging from news interviews to lip-syncing 鈥淭win where have you been鈥� with his State of the Union guest Rick Levy, the President of state labor federation Texas AFL-CIO. He has just over 3,000 followers and 20,000 likes.
"I'm not a prolific TikTok user,鈥� Casar said in an interview. 鈥淏ut we do use TikTok and it is a good way for us to inform especially younger people"
Crockett has the biggest audience on TikTok among the Texans, however, she stopped using the app in September.
Crockett said she didn鈥檛 think 鈥渋t was a yes or a no鈥� in the same way she would decisively vote to protect abortion rights. She said she believes there are valid national security concerns but that social media regulation should be broadened beyond just TikTok.
Crockett was a TikTok user during her time in the Texas State House, but stopped posting on the app herself in April of 2022 when she said she started experiencing technical issues. She said she would still be using the app if not for this personal issue.
鈥淲e know the problems, we get a burner phone and keep it moving,鈥� Crockett said, noting the national security concerns. She said she knows of at least two House members who use burner phones to access the app, but she did not name them.