Former Representative Colin Allred of Texas won a Democratic House primary runoff on Tuesday, according to The Associated Press, ousting the woman who replaced him in Congress when he ran for Senate two years ago.
Mr. Allred is the general-election favorite in the heavily Democratic district, based in Dallas.
His victory over Representative Julie Johnson signifies the likely completion of a circuitous path back to Congress for Mr. Allred, who represented the Dallas area for three terms in the House before he challenged and lost to Senator Ted Cruz in 2024.
Mr. Allred ran for the Senate again but failed to generate excitement among donors and voters. He dropped out of that contest in December when Representative Jasmine Crockett entered the race and moved to consolidate support from Black voters who made up Mr. Allred’s voter base. Both Mr. Allred and Ms. Crockett are Black.
After he withdrew, Mr. Allred downshifted from the Senate race to run against Ms. Johnson, who had replaced him in Congress. That contest quickly grew nasty, with Mr. Allred bashing Ms. Johnson for making stock trades while in office (she said her stock portfolio was managed by an independent broker) and Ms. Johnson calling Mr. Allred an ineffective lawmaker and saying he ran a lousy campaign for Senate.
Mr. Allred and Ms. Johnson have represented what has traditionally been a competitive House district. But last year, Texas Republicans redrew the state’s congressional map to try to eliminate five districts held by Democrats at President Trump’s request. In doing so, they consolidated Dallas-area Democratic voters into much more heavily Democratic districts.
The House campaign had echoes of the Democratic primary for Senate in Texas that Mr. Allred quit. The Senate race split voters along racial lines, as James Talarico, a white state representative, consolidated support from white and Latino voters while Ms. Crockett won a large majority of Black voters.
Mr. Allred had a brief cameo late in that campaign, even after he had backed out. A social media influencer said that Mr. Talarico had told her, in an off-the-record conversation, that Mr. Allred was “a mediocre Black man.” Mr. Allred subsequently filmed a video taking umbrage and endorsing Ms. Crockett. Mr. Talarico responded in a statement that he had “described Congressman Allred’s method of campaigning as mediocre.” He added, “I would never attack him on the basis of race.”
In the House primary, Mr. Talarico backed Ms. Johnson. Ms. Crockett, who lost the Senate primary to Mr. Talarico, endorsed Mr. Allred.
Though Ms. Johnson is the incumbent, Mr. Allred has raised and spent nearly three times as much money as she has during the House campaign.
Reid J. Epstein is a Times reporter covering campaigns and elections from Washington.
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