DallasAfter the Democrat’s bid against Republican Sen. Ted Cruz last year shattered expenditure records but failed to provide his party with the breakthrough it has been seeking for decades in the state, former Texas congressman Colin Allred announced his intention to run for the U.S. Senate again on Tuesday.
This time, Allred is running for the seat of Republican Sen. John Cornyn, who is up against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in what is expected to be one of the most intense races in the GOP’s 2026 primary.
Only seven months after losing to Cruz by over nine percentage points, Allred made his statement. Democrats spent almost $130 million in that race last cycle in an attempt to unseat Cruz, making it one of the most costly in the nation.
Allred, a former NFL linebacker and lawyer, is the first well-known Democrat to announce his candidacy in the contest that Democrats believe would be their best chance to end Texas’ 30-year statewide election drought next year. Not ruling out a candidacy is another former Democratic congressman, Beto O’Rourke, who narrowly lost to Cruz in 2018 by three percentage points.
Allred attacked Cornyn and Paxton in a video promoting his campaign, portraying himself as a champion for those who are battling to succeed.
“I understand. “It may seem impossible to make real change,” Allred added. I’m not giving up, though.
In response to the announcement on Tuesday, Paxton stated, “Texans have already rejected your liberal values once.” Voters in Texas must now reject your vision and principles once more.
In last year’s election, Allred made defending abortion rights a key component of his campaign in an attempt to project himself as a moderate. Among his supporters were ladies from Texas who experienced severe pregnancy difficulties following the implementation of the state’s abortion prohibition.
Some Democrats, however, were dissatisfied with Allred’s plan of not cramming his schedule with boisterous rallies or investing more in tiny areas of Texas, such as places along the Mexican border, and criticized his campaign early on.
Ultimately, Republicans continued to make inroads along the predominantly Hispanic border with Mexico, which had long been a Democratic bastion, while Texas Democrats maintained their run of defeats in statewide elections.
After being undrafted out of Baylor University, Allred played in the NFL for four seasons, all with the Tennessee Titans. After winning a Republican-held Dallas district in 2018, he was elected to Congress.
Terry Virts, a former astronaut, also ran as a Democrat for the U.S. Senate.
The question of if and when President Donald Trump will back Cornyn or Paxton is looming over the GOP campaign. Trump congratulated both candidates in April and stated that he will decide later.
