Texas: The Issue Is - Congressman Colin Allred discusses challenging Ted Cruz for Senate seat
FORT WORTH, Texas - North Texas Congressman Colin Allred is leaving his Democrat friendly seat in the House of Representatives to challenge Ted Cruz for the Senate.
Allred, who flipped a red seat, said he can do it statewide.
FOX 4’s Steven Dial went one-on-one with him before the Juneteenth walk with Opal Lee in Fort Worth, where he also met with supporters.
"Ted Cruz, we've got to get rid of him too," Allred said to a supporter.
"We’ve got to get rid of Ted, that’s what you are running for, right?" the supporter asked.
"Yes," Allred answered.
The 40-year-old former NFL player is now in his third term in Congress. In May, he announced something bigger, that he is running for the U.S. Senate.
Colin Allred officially launches campaign for Ted Cruz's for Senate seat
Democratic Congressman Colin Allred of Dallas plans to run for Ted Cruz's United States Senate seat.
Steven Dial: Beto O’Rourke was the closest to do it, what sets you apart? You are trying to appeal to Republicans and independents. What makes you different than Beto O’Rourke or any other Democrat running statewide?
Colin Allred: I think we know as Texans we can’t afford to have another term of Ted Cruz representing us in the Senate. That’s what it is about. It’s not about the presidential race or past races in the Senate, it’s about me vs. Ted Cruz…We know we can’t count on him, he went on vacation during the freeze and he’s one of the people who tried to lead the insurrection on January 6th, so I think that’s not the Texas that I know.
Dial: You flipped a district, now you are taking it statewide. That’s a big difference. What changes now for you?
Allred: Not much actually, it’s the same approach. It’s trying to bring folks together, to try and get more people involved in democracy. I was a voting rights lawyer, that matters to me. Getting folks who don’t see themselves reflected in this Republican party, or see themselves the way Ted Cruz represents them, give them a chance to vote for somebody like me.
Dial: Do you think the Biden administration has done enough to fix the problem with the surge at the border?
Allred: My family is from Brownsville, my grandfather was a customs officer after the second World War, when he fought in the Navy. I know that our border communities have deserved more support over multiple administrations. This is not the first time we’ve seen surges of migrants coming to those communities. It’s often been the case the federal government has not done enough. But it’s also true that for ten years Ted Cruz has been in the Senate, he’s done nothing to fix this problem. It’s not just a situation where you go to the border, point out the problems and act like you are on a safari. You’re a legislator, you are in the United States Senate, pass legislation.
Dial: What should the Biden administration do different, if you could come up with a suggestion?
Allred: They need to have more resources to put into our border communities, to deal with the surge. We need to process people faster. The asylum process is too slow…Some of it is on Congress. Our immigration system is broken, it’s only so much any administration can do. Just saying you are going to build a wall is not a solution. Yes, we have some physical barriers there, we want to channel folks to ports of entry, but it’s much more complicated than that.
Allred also said he is willing to work across the aisle.
He pointed out that Texas' senior Senator John Cornyn has tried to do that.
Allred: John Cornyn was one of the main proponent of the CHIPS and Science Act that is going to help our scientific economy here. He was a big proponent of the first time in 30 years with gun legislation. he’s tried to do things. He voted the other day to not default on our debt, Ted Cruz did not.
Dial: Do you think inflation is due in part to Democrats spending too much money?
Allred: It’s not just based on our policies, certainly some of it has to be with supply chain disruption, cost of labor increasing, folks changing where they work, all these things and some long-term trends that have come together. One of the biggest drives is the cost of housing, that’s a long-term trend that’s come to a head during the pandemic, that’s one of the things I want to address.