DALLAS – Colin Allred, a former Texas congressman, has announced his decision to run for the U.S. Senate once again. Last year, Allred, a Democrat, challenged Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, setting records for campaign spending. However, the victory that the Democratic Party has been striving for in Texas remained elusive.
This time around, Allred is vying for the seat currently held by Republican Sen. John Cornyn. Cornyn is facing a primary challenge from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, making it a highly anticipated and potentially combative contest within the GOP for the year 2026.
Allred’s decision to enter the race comes shortly after his defeat to Cruz by a margin of close to 9 percentage points just seven months ago. The battle between Allred and Cruz was one of the costliest in the nation during the last election cycle, with Democrats pouring over $130 million into their efforts to remove Cruz from office.
A former NFL linebacker and attorney, Allred is the first high-profile Democrat to declare himself a candidate in the race that Democrats see as their best shot next year at ending a 30-year drought in statewide elections in Texas. Another former Democratic congressman, Beto O’Rourke, who came within 3 percentage points of defeating Cruz in 2018, also hasn’t ruled out a run.
In a video announcing his candidacy, Allred took aim at both Cornyn and Paxton and cast himself as a fighter for those struggling to get ahead.
“I get it. Real change might feel impossible,” Allred said. “But I’m not giving up.”
Allred tried to position himself as a moderate in last year’s race and made protecting abortion rights a centerpiece of his campaign. His supporters included Texas women who had serious pregnancy complications after the state’s abortion ban took effect.
But his campaign drew criticism early on from some Democrats who grew restless with Allred’s strategy of not packing his schedule with raucous rallies or investing more in smaller corners of Texas, including cities along the border with Mexico.
In the end, Texas Democrats’ streak of losses in statewide races continued while Republicans kept making gains along the predominately Hispanic border with Mexico, which had long been a Democratic stronghold.
Allred played four seasons in the NFL, all with the Tennessee Titans, after being undrafted out of Baylor University. He entered Congress after flipping a Republican district in Dallas in 2018.
Former astronaut Terry Virts also entered the U.S. Senate race as a Democratic candidate.
Looming over the GOP primary between Cornyn and Paxton is whether and when President Donald Trump will make an endorsement. In April, Trump praised both candidates and said he would make a decision later.
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