Strong Challenger Emerges for Ted Cruz's Senate Seat

Democratic Rep. Colin Allred will reportedly announce his candidacy soon
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted May 2, 2023 2:06 PM CDT
Former NFL Player to Challenge Ted Cruz
Rep Colin Allred, D-Texas, in a 2020 photo.   (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

It looks like Ted Cruz will have a serious Democratic challenger on his hands next year. Politico and the Dallas Morning News report that Rep. Colin Allred will announce as soon as this week that he intends to run for Cruz's Senate seat in Texas. The 40-year-old is probably best known nationally for his days in the NFL, notes Roll Call—he played linebacker for the Tennessee Titans from 2006 to 2010. But he became a civil rights attorney after that and also worked in the Department of Housing and Urban Development in the Obama administration. In 2018, he upset a big-name Republican, Pete Sessions, to win his congressional seat in suburban Dallas.

"One advantage Allred could have—at least over fellow Democrats—is money," writes Patrick Svitek at the Texas Tribune. "He has proven himself to be a strong fundraiser through multiple election cycles, and he ended the first quarter of this year with $2.2 million cash on hand. Cruz had $3.3 million in the bank." Democrats haven't won a statewide race in Texas since 1994, notes the Morning News, though Beto O'Rourke came within 3 points of defeating Cruz in 2018. Allred would give up a safe congressional seat to run against Cruz. But even if he loses, Politico notes that Allred would likely increase his national profile in a big way with a strong race. (More Ted Cruz stories.)

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