Colin Allred, Dallas Congressman and ex-NFL linebacker, looks to tackle his biggest challenge yet: Ted Cruz

Dallas Congressman Colin Allred won the Democratic primary in the race for U.S. Senate, taking home around 60 percent of the vote.

Now, Allred moves on to the general election, where he will face off against Senator Ted Cruz.

Background

The 40-year-old Allred was born and raised in Dallas by his single mom. 

He attended Hillcrest High School, eventually earning a full-ride to Baylor University in Waco.

He played linebacker for the Bears football team and was named an All-Big 12 candidate in 2005.

Allred then signed with the Tennessee Titans in 2006 as an undrafted free agent. He played for the Titans for four seasons, playing sparingly for the team.

Allred retired from the NFL and went on to become a civil rights attorney, earning his J.D. from UC Berkeley.

He worked in the General Counsel's office at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development under Julian Castro during the Obama administration. 

Running for Office

In 2017, Allred announced a run for Congress.

Allred won the Democratic primary in a runoff and went on to defeat incumbent Republican Pete Sessions in 2018. Sessions had represented the 32nd district since it was created in 2003.

Allred says the experience flipping a red seat will be helpful in the Senate run ahead.

"It’s the same approach. It’s trying to bring folks together, to try and get more people involved in democracy. I was a voting rights lawyer, that matters to me. Getting folks who don’t see themselves reflected in this Republican party, or see themselves the way Ted Cruz represents them, give them a chance to vote for somebody like me," Allred told FOX 4 in June 2023.

Time in Congress

Allred was elected as co-president of the Democratic freshman in Congress when he first arrived on the Hill.

The Dallas Congressman has consistently voted with President Biden during his time in office, but did turn heads in January of this year.

Allred was one of three Texas Democrats who voted for a resolution denouncing "the Biden administration’s open-borders policies."

Both progessive Senate candidate Roland Gutierrez and Republican Senator Ted Cruz criticized the vote.

Gutierrez said that Allred "sided with GOP extremists."

The Cruz campaign called the vote a "disingenuous attempt to posture on the border."

Matchup Against Cruz

Allred faces an uphill battle against Senator Ted Cruz, who has established himself as a leading member of the Republican Party.

A University of Houston poll issued in January showed Cruz with a 48 to 39 percent lead over Allred in a then-hypothetical matchup.

No Democrat has won a statewide office in Texas in 30 years, the longest losing streak of its kind in the U.S.

Cruz only narrowly beat Beto O’Rourke for reelection in 2018 by less than 3 percentage points. It was the closest Democrats have come in decades to winning a statewide seat and happened during a midterm election that wound up being a strong year for Democrats nationally.

"I think we know as Texans we can’t afford to have another term of Ted Cruz representing us in the Senate. That’s what it is about. It’s not about the presidential race or past races in the Senate, it’s about me vs. Ted Cruz," Allred said to FOX 4 shortly after announcing his campaign.

Allred is a moderate Democrat, who says he is willing to reach across the aisle to work with Republicans.

He would be Texas' first Black senator if elected.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.