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U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, D-Dallas, is ready to problem U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, for reelection in 2024 and will announce his marketing campaign inside days, in line with two sources accustomed to his plans.
Allred, a former NFL participant and civil rights lawyer who was first elected to Congress in 2018, has been contemplating for months whether or not to tackle Cruz. Hypothesis ramped up final week after it was famous that Allred’s marketing campaign web site gave the impression to be present process modifications.
Politico first reported Monday that Allred might launch a bid in opposition to Cruz as quickly as this week. The 2 sources who spoke to The Texas Tribune weren’t licensed to publicly focus on Allred’s plans, and aides to the consultant didn’t reply to requests for remark Monday.
Allred would start the marketing campaign as a serious underdog in a state that has not elected a Democrat to statewide workplace since 1994. Beto O’Rourke ran a surprisingly tight race in opposition to Cruz in 2018 — shedding by lower than 3 share factors — however Democrats haven’t come as shut since then.
The race will not be with out threat for Allred. He must quit his newly secure seat in Congress, the place he has been rising inside the Democratic caucus.
Allred is also more likely to have credible major competitors. State Sen. Roland Gutierrez of San Antonio is poised to run, although he’s unlikely to make any bulletins till after the present legislative session, which ends Might 29.
Allred labored on the U.S. Division of Housing and City Growth underneath President Barack Obama earlier than returning house to Dallas to run for Congress in 2018. With O’Rourke on the high of the poll, Allred grew to become considered one of two Democrats who flipped congressional seats that yr in Texas, unseating U.S. Rep. Pete Classes, R-Dallas, within the thirty second District.
Nationwide Republicans sought to win again Allred’s seat in 2020, however he gained by a cushty margin. The subsequent yr, the Legislature redrew his seat to be safer for Democrats, and Allred sailed to a 3rd time period.
One benefit Allred might have — at the very least over fellow Democrats — is cash. He has confirmed himself to be a powerful fundraiser by way of a number of election cycles, and he ended the primary quarter of this yr with $2.2 million money available. Cruz had $3.3 million within the financial institution.
Allred’s Senate marketing campaign would possible deal with his bipartisan bona fides. His 2018 victory marked a serious breakthrough for Democrats within the historically Republican suburbs of Dallas, and the GOP-leaning U.S. Chamber of Commerce has endorsed him in each of his reelection campaigns.
Republicans are already gearing as much as tackle that picture. A spokesperson for the Nationwide Republican Senatorial Committee tweeted Monday that Allred “voted in favor of lowered sentences for violent criminals,” referring to Allred’s February vote in opposition to a decision to dam a controversial overhaul of the Washington, D.C., felony code.
Matthew Choi contributed reporting.
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