Texas Democrat Colin Allred Launches Senate Bid Against Ted Cruz

UNITED STATES - FEBRUARY 8: Rep. Colin Allred, D-Texas, and members of the Congressional B
Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call
Ashley Oliver
Washington, DC

Rep. Colin Allred (D-TX) announced Wednesday he is running for U.S. Senate in Texas in 2024 in hopes of unseating Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX).

The 40-year-old former NFL player, who is serving in his third term in the House, made his opening campaign bid in a three-minute video, first zeroing in on the January 6 Capitol riot before making the case that Cruz, a prominent national figure, does not prioritize Texans.

“The struggles of regular Texans just don’t interest [Cruz]. Well, they matter to me because those struggles are the story of my life,” Allred said.

Allred, a Texas native who got his law degree after leaving the NFL, detailed his life story in the video, highlighting how he grew up without a father and became the first congressman to take paternity leave.

“My family, my coaches, my counselors at the YMCA kept me on the right track. … I took those lessons with me into public service,” Allred said, emphasizing that he has worked across the aisle with Republicans on certain issues.

“We deserve a senator whose team is Texas, but Ted Cruz only cares about himself. You know that. He wants to divide us,” Allred said.

A Democrat has not won a Texas Senate race in more than 30 years, but the race is still expected to be one of the most competitive and most expensive in the country in 2024.

Former President Donald Trump won in the Lone Star State in 2016 and 2020, but only by a couple points. Cruz, likewise, defeated Democrat Beto O’Rourke in 2018 by a narrow margin of less than three percent.

Cruz nevertheless predicted in an interview with Breitbart News shortly after Biden took office that despite suburbs purpling in Texas, both 2022 and 2024 would be “very, very good elections.”

“I think ’22 and ’24 are going to be very, very good elections, and the reason is simple, the Democrats are overshooting,” he said. “These guys are extreme. They’re radical. Their policies don’t work, and there’s a natural pendulum to politics.”

Cruz’s campaign spokesman Nick Maddux contended in a statement Wednesday that Allred is a “far-left radical” whose “voting record is completely out-of-touch with Texas.”

“Allred wants men to compete in women’s sports, isn’t serious about addressing the crisis at the border, wants to take away law-abiding Texans’ guns, and is soft on punishing murderers,” Maddux said. “Bottom line, Allred is too extreme for Texas.”

Write to Ashley Oliver at aoliver@breitbart.com. Follow her on Twitter at @asholiver.

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