Texas Democrat Allred says he’ll run against Cruz for Senate

By PAUL J. WEBER
Associated Press

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Democratic Rep. Colin Allred of Texas says he’ll run for the U.S. Senate in 2024, becoming an early challenger to Republican Sen. Ted Cruz. The three-term congressman and former Tennessee Titans linebacker made the announcement Wednesday. Allred enters the race a heavy underdog. No Democrat has won statewide office in Texas in nearly 30 years, although Cruz only narrowly beat Democrat Beto O’Rourke in 2018. Allred will give up a safe congressional seat for Democrats in Dallas by entering the race for the Senate, where Democrats hold a narrow 51-49 majority. Allred says someone like him “was never supposed to get this far.” Cruz’s campaign calls Allred “too extreme for Texas.”