Texas Democratic Rep. Colin Allred announced he is running for U.S. Senate against Republican incumbent Ted Cruz.
In his announcement video, Allred criticized Cruz for his comments before the Jan. 6th insurrection and for going to Cancun, Mexico with his family during a severe winter storm in February, 2021 that knocked out power for millions of Texans.
“He’ll do anything to get on Fox News but can’t be bothered to help keep rural Texas hospitals open,” Allred said in the video. Cruz “spends months trying to whip up phony culture wars but not a minute trying to raise wages or lower drug prices.”
“The struggles of regular Texas just don’t interest him,” Allred said. “Well, they matter to me because those struggles are the story of my life.”
Allred was a linebacker for the NFL’s Tennessee Titans before becoming a civil rights attorney who served in the Obama administration under HUD Secretary Julian Castro.
He was elected to Congress in 2018, defeating Republican incumbent Rep. Pete Sessions. But Allred acknowledged that he faces a much tougher task now.
A Democrat has not won a statewide election in Texas since 1994. The party came close in 2018 when Cruz narrowly defeated Beto O’Rourke in the midterms.
