DALLAS — North Texas congressman Colin Allred has officially announced that he is running for a seat in the U.S. Senate.
Sources told WFAA that he was expected to announce a bid against incumbent Republican Sen. Ted Cruz sometime this week. The Dallas Democrat has been laying the groundwork for the 2024 campaign for months, including calls to potential donors, according to sources.
When asked for a response on Monday, a spokesperson for Allred's office said “no comment.” The congressman then posted a video to Twitter on Wednesday morning, stating, "I’m running for U.S. Senate because Texans deserve a Senator whose team is Texas."
Allred faces an uphill battle to unseat incumbent Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, who’s held the seat since 2013.
While known as a lawmaker who works across the aisle, Allred has little name recognition in Texas outside of Dallas.
The Dallas Hillcrest High School graduate played college football at Baylor University before playing five seasons in the NFL with the Tennessee Titans.
After an injury ended his playing career, Allred became a civil rights attorney before he was first elected to Congress in 2018, beating long-time incumbent Republican Pete Sessions in District 32.
Allred is currently in his third term in Congress.
The race to replace him is expected to be competitive, with some political insiders already mentioning state Rep. Julie Johnson, D-Farmers Branch, as a leading candidate.
A spokesperson for Sen. Cruz sent WFAA the following statement:
"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. Allred wants men to compete in women’s sports, isn’t serious about addressing the crisis at the border, wants to take away law-abiding Texans’ guns, and is soft on punishing murderers. Bottom line, Allred is too extreme for Texas. Thankfully, the Lone Star State has a tireless champion in Sen. Ted Cruz. For over a decade, Sen. Cruz has been leading the fight for jobs, freedom, and security in Texas. As Senator for Texas, Sen. Cruz will continue to do everything he can to bring more jobs to Texas, fight out-of-control government spending, and support the oil and gas industry from the attacks of Democrats like Joe Biden and Colin Allred.”