A growing number of local officials are diving full force into national politics this election year, including backing Democrat Colin Allred in his uphill race against U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz.

Local governments rely heavily on relationships in D.C. to advocate for their communities’ needs — often a motivation for local elected officials to steer clear of engaging such races.

But this month San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg and Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar each held events to endorse Allred, holding nothing back on Cruz in the process.

On Friday, Salazar told roughly a dozen TV reporters outside the Bexar County Courthouse that he needed an ally like Allred, who, unlike Cruz, would support modest gun safety measures and be willing to work across the aisle on border security.

Pointing to a bipartisan border security bill that Republicans shut down last year, Salazar said: “It was supported by the Border Patrol Union. It was going to put more first responders on the border. It was going to address the issue of the ongoing border crisis.”

“Unfortunately, it got tanked, and Senator Ted Cruz helped with that respect,” he continued.

Salazar consulted with the White House on that particular bill, which Cruz said would have given Democrats too much of a political victory.

But it’s unclear whether Allred is winning over any voters who prioritize that particular issue, and Salazar, who also dedicated his prime speaking gig at the DNC to talking about immigration, has drawn scorn from some other South Texas sheriffs who’ve condemned his venture into the national political scene.

“It’s a calculated risk that we take, and obviously we know that things may not go our way on the national level, but we have to try,” Salazar told the San Antonio Report after Friday’s event with Allred.

Asked about the grants that lawmakers dole out to fund law enforcement officers and other public safety initiatives, Salazar said: “If somebody on the national level sees fit to put Bexar County taxpayers at risk because they don’t like the way that we handled politics during the election, then shame on them.”

Salazar is up for reelection in November against Republican Nathan Buchanan.

Nirenberg, on the other hand, is feeling more politically emboldened as his time as mayor winds down. He’s term-limited from seeking reelection, and planning to spend some of his final months hitting the campaign trail for Democratic presidential hopeful Kamala Harris.

In a brief endorsement ceremony for Allred earlier this month, Nirenberg criticized Cruz as hung up on partisan battles and culture wars.

“Texas needs someone we can count on in a crisis… someone who will lead us forward, not backward,” he said, referencing Cruz’s 2021 trip to Cancún, Mexico, while the state was in the midst of a devastating winter storm.