Former Democratic congressman Colin Allred said Monday he is dropping out of the Senate race in Texas and will instead run for one of the new congressional districts formed by Republican-led redistricting in the state.
Allred, 42, ran unsuccessfully for Senate in 2024 against Sen. Ted Cruz (R) and had launched a bid earlier this year for the state’s other Senate seat, held by Sen. John Cornyn (R). This time, Allred faced a competitive primary race against Democratic Texas state Rep. James Talarico, with reports that other Democrats could also join the race.
“In the past few days, I’ve come to believe that a bruising Senate Democratic primary and runoff would prevent the Democratic Party from going into this critical election unified against the danger posed to our communities and our Constitution by Donald Trump and one of his Republican bootlickers,” Allred said in a statement Monday, citing Republican candidates Cornyn, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt. “That’s why I’ve made the difficult decision to end my campaign for the U.S. Senate.”
Allred said he was instead launching a campaign to represent a newly drawn 33rd Congressional District, which covers part of the Dallas area. He will face Rep. Julie Johnson (D-Texas), who is serving her first term representing Allred’s former district.
Allred, a lawyer and former professional football player who was a linebacker for the Tennessee Titans, was first elected to Congress in 2018, when he upset Republican incumbent Pete Sessions. He served three terms in the House representing a portion of the Dallas area before running for Senate last year.
“It’s the community where I was raised, and where Aly and I are now raising our two boys. It is my home,” he said Monday, referring to his wife, Alexandra Eber.
Allred’s announcement comes days after the Supreme Court upheld a Republican-drawn congressional map in Texas that could create up to five new GOP seats, a decision that has already scrambled several races in the state. Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) has not ruled out a Senate run and is expected to make a decision Monday, which is the filing deadline for primary elections in Texas. If Crockett jumps into the Senate race, Rep. Marc Veasey (D-Texas) is expected to run for Crockett’s redrawn House seat, according to people familiar with the decision process who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the plans had not yet been made public.
Marianna Sotomayor contributed to this report.
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