Democrats have chosen Colin Allred, a congressman from northeast Dallas, to take on incumbent Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), besting a crowded field of nine Democrats on Tuesday night.
Allred led significantly among his closest competitors, state Sen. Roland Gutierrez, who has gained name recognition after he responded to the Uvalde school shooting that happened in his district, and Mark Gonzalez, a former district attorney.
Several news outlets called the race for Allred about two hours after the polls closed at 9 p.m. Eastern, including NBC News and ABC News, with Allred leading with about 60% of the vote, with two-thirds of the votes in.
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The former NFL player and civil rights attorney has been viewed as a formidable Senate recruit, bringing in strong fundraising numbers and setting up a key matchup in the fight for control of the chamber. Republicans need a net gain of just two seats to take control of the chamber or one seat if Republicans win the White House since the vice president casts tiebreaking votes in the Senate.
“A 4th generation Texan and working-class kid who made it to the NFL and Congress, Colin Allred has proven he can take on and win tough fights,” said Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI), chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. “In November, Texans are going to elect a Senator who will put delivering results for the people of Texas over politics — that is Colin Allred.”
Allred was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2018 when he flipped GOP Rep. Pete Sessions’s seat. Allred has remained a reliable vote on key Democratic initiatives, like the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. However, he has broken with President Joe Biden in the past and sided with Republicans to support a resolution in January of this year, slamming the Biden administration’s policies on the border.
Cruz handily won his own primary with more than 88% of the vote with about three-fourths of the vote counted, according to the Associated Press. The Democratic primary for Senate has generated much attention after former Rep. Beto O’Rouke lost to Cruz by 3 percentage points in 2018, although recent polling found Cruz may not be as vulnerable as previously. Former President Donald Trump won Texas by nearly 6 points in 2020, following a 9-point win in 2016.
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Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT), chairman of the Senate GOP campaign arm, called Allred an “extremist who supports open borders.”
“Tonight, Texas Democrats nominated Chuck Schumer’s hand-picked candidate, Colin Allred. Allred is an extremist who supports open borders, backed Washington D.C.’s pro-criminal legislation, and said he wished the Second Amendment had never been written,” Daines said in a statement. “Ted Cruz is well-positioned to withstand the millions Chuck Schumer will spend to prop up Allred’s campaign.”
