To win in Texas, U.S. Senate candidate Colin Allred wants to appeal to Democrats and moderates

Early voting is already underway in Texas for the November election, and the biggest statewide contest is the U.S. Senate race between Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, who is seeking his third six-year term, and U.S. House Rep. Colin Allred, a Democrat who currently represents Texas’ 32nd Congressional District in Washington.

The winner will be one of two senators from the Lone Star states, joining Republican John Cornyn.

Nationally, the race is shaping up to be one of the most watched campaigns of 2024 — and one of the most expensive, with Allred leading Cruz in the fundraising battle. So far, the campaigns have raised about $132 million, the Texas Tribune reported.

Allred’s fundraising success is due in part to national Democratic leadership viewing the seat as winnable.

“I think their (the Democratic National Committee’s) willingness to put money into this race is a function of both Allred himself and the incumbent, but it’s also a presidential year,” said UT-Arlington political scientist Rebecca Deen , told The Texas Newsroom. “Not only will this produce more voters, but it will also produce a different segment of the electorate than a midterm election.”

In the most recent fundraising quarter, the North Texas congressman raised more than $30 million, while the Republican incumbent received $21 million.

Who is Colin Allred?

Allred, who was born and raised in Dallas, grew up playing football. His success on the field while studying at Hillcrest High School led to him playing for Baylor University and eventually the NFL. Allred played five seasons for the Tennessee Titans.

That experience is something Allred often touts on the campaign trail.

“I’m someone who has never approached things from a purely partisan perspective,” Allred said in an interview in early September. “I think when you’re a football player and have a similar background to me, you focus more on results. And that’s how I feel. “In a results-driven company, my job is to deliver for the people out there who are working hard.”

After an injury, he gave up football, became a civil rights attorney, and eventually worked for the Department of Housing and Urban Development during the Obama administration.

In 2018, Allred successfully ran to represent Texas’ 32nd Congressional District. The district, which includes parts of Dallas and surrounding cities, has long been represented by a Republican.

Supporters said his legal background made him successful in Washington.

“As a civil rights lawyer, he kind of understands the give and take when he starts pushing legislation,” said Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price, who supported Allred in his run for U.S. Senate.

According to Deen, Allred is also considered a rising star in the Democratic Party.

“Giving a speech at the last Democratic convention that, of course, really boosts his reputation,” she said.

Given that, and the fact that Cruz won re-election in 2018 by just over 200,000 votes against Beto O’Rourke, the U.S. Senate race in Texas is one of the few seats nationwide that Democrats believe they have could turn around.

In the polls, Allred is currently only one percentage point or even seven percentage points behind Cruz, depending on where you look.

abortion

Texas has some of the strictest abortion laws in the country. There are no exceptions for rape or incest, which polls show a majority of Americans support.

Allred has made abortion one of his key campaign issues — and the subject of several campaign ads — and has often said he agrees with most Americans and Texans who believe in exceptions.

During the candidates’ only debate, Allred asked Cruz to address the “26,000 Texas women who were forced to give birth to their rapist’s child under this law, which you called perfectly reasonable,” adding that he “Trust Texas women to take care of their own health care decisions.”

He said that if elected he would “restore” and “make” a woman’s right to vote Roe v. Wade again the law of the land.

In a recent interview with KERA, Allred said, “Ted Cruz has gone too far and his extreme rhetoric has now become extreme policies that impact Texans every day,” citing the state’s “near-total abortion ban that has a terrible impact on Texas.” Women and Texas Families.

Border and immigration

Allred has been outspoken about his stance on reforming the US immigration system and increasing border security, at times breaking with his fellow Democrats in Washington.

He recently told KERA that he will “not only recognize that we have a problem, and I do now, but I will then help secure the border and also reform our immigration system.”

Allred was alluding to a contentious vote earlier this year in which he was one of just three Democrats to vote with Republicans on a resolution denouncing the Biden administration’s border policies. The resolution included sharp rebukes of the administration, including language such as: “While the Biden Administration has brazenly dismantled the Trump Administration’s effective and lawful immigration policies, directly leading to the worst border crisis in the nation’s history, affecting every state. “

That vote drew some attention from other Democrats, including his primary opponent, Texas Sen. Roland Gutierrez, who accused Allred of “siding with the GOP extremists” on the issue.

“Close to being a centrist”

In his campaign, Allred appealed to both traditional Democratic voters in Texas as well as more centrist and moderate voters.

During an appearance on The Bulwark podcast last month, Allred invited people who believe in conservative values ​​- such as the Constitution, the rule of law and accountability – to consider voting for him.

“Anyone out there in Texas who feels conservative but believes in these things. But he is a moderate and someone who feels that way,” he said. “They don’t see themselves reflected in this version of the Republican Party. You are welcome here.”

Such a plea to Republicans may have helped him win the approval and support of Republicans such as former Vice President Dick Cheney and his daughter, former U.S. House Representative Liz Cheney.

Allred is “so close to being a centrist to me,” Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price told The Texas Newsroom.

Rebecca Deen of UT-Arlington said it may be more about perception than reality.

“While I think most people would view his politics as left-wing or progressive, he presents himself in a very moderate way,” Deen said, adding that Allred “doesn’t seem like a flamethrower of any kind. He comes across as very sensible, very sensible, very intelligent, very well informed about the political issues.”

Housing and economy

Rep. Allred’s campaign messages on the economy largely reflect what both Democrats and Republicans have said leading up to November. Allred recently told KERA that he wants to reduce the cost of groceries and other things families spend money on.

Allred pointed to growing up with a single mother and said he understood: “You don’t have a lot of money left. And you swipe your debit card and say a little prayer as you walk through the line at the grocery store.”

Addressing the housing challenges many Americans are currently facing, Allred said he wants to follow Vice President Harris’ plan to “make sure we can increase our housing supply and reduce the overall cost of housing.”

The Democrat also said he wants to “continue to reduce child care costs and reduce health care costs, as we did when we capped the cost of insulin for Medicare recipients at $35 a month.”

But Allred also recognizes that it won’t be easy to win in a traditionally Republican state, in part because of historically low voter turnout in Texas.

“We are a non-voting state,” he told KERA, adding that — as a voting rights advocate — he knows that’s partly because of “overlapping laws,” but also because of a sense that you could get in trouble. “

He attributes the latter part to the current leadership of the state.

According to Allred, there are “a lot of Texans out there who are looking for someone who is on their side and not just on their own side. And those are people I want to make sure are involved in this campaign.”

With weeks left until Election Day, Allred will soon see whether his centralized approach worked.