Colin Allred officially launches campaign for Ted Cruz's for Senate seat
DALLAS - Democratic Congressman Colin Allred of Dallas has officially announced his plans to run for the United States Senate.
Allred said Republican incumbent Ted Cruz has been working to divide Texans and accused the senator of cheering on the mob of Capitol rioters two years ago.
Allred, an attorney and former NFL linebacker, has represented District 32 in parts of Dallas and its northeastern suburbs in the U.S. House since 2019.
The district was a Republican stronghold until he flipped it in 2018.
"When I left the NFL, I thought my days of putting people on the ground were over. Then, January 6 happened," Allred says in the opening of the video announcing his candidacy.
Allred then goes on to say Cruz is "all hat, no cattle" for his response to the Jan. 6 and going to Mexico during the Texas freeze of 2021.
"We deserve a Senator whose team is Texas," Allred says in the video. "Ted Cruz only cares about himself."
A spokesperson for the Cruz campaign released a statement on Wednesday saying, in part, "Democrats have once again turned to a far-left radical to run for Senate. Not only does Colin Allred vote with Nancy Pelosi 100% of the time, but his voting record is completely out-of-touch with Texas."
The spokesperson goes on to call Allred "too extreme for Texas."
Allred hosted a roundtable event Monday but would not talk about his campaign at that time.
"How much closer are you to making a decision about a potential Senate run?" a reporter asked.
"I’m here to talk about the CHIP bill and the important investment it’s going to make in our community, how this is a national security priority for us as well that’s going to create jobs here. I’m really proud to have voted for this. I’m glad that Sen. Cornyn was a leader for it in the Senate. I think Sen. Cruz should have voted for it as well because if any state would benefit from it, it would be Texas," he responded.
Earlier this week, Senator Cornyn called a then-potential run for Senate a "political death wish."
State Sen. Roland Gutierrez 'very likely' to challenge Ted Cruz in 2024
Gutierrez, who represents Uvalde, is not expected to make any announcements about the race until after the current legislative session.
Another prominent Democrat, State Senator Roland Gutierrez, is reportedly also weighing a Senate run.
The Democratic Party winner will likely face Cruz, who is running for a third term, in the general election.
No Democrat has won a statewide election in Texas since 1994.
Sen. Cruz won his last race against Beto O’Rourke by less than three percentage points. It was the closest Senate race in Texas in 40 years.