Ted Cruz Challenger Colin Allred Has a History of Beating Republicans

Authored by newsweek.com and submitted by newnemo

A Texas Democrat with a history of beating Republicans is gearing up to take on a seasoned opponent.

On Wednesday, Colin Allred, a U.S. House representative for Texas, announced his 2024 U.S. Senate campaign against Republican Senator Ted Cruz on YouTube. Allred is bound to encounter a challenge, as Texas is a well-known red state that hasn't seen a Democrat win a statewide election since 1994, according to a report by KSAT.

A Democrat securing a Senate seat in Texas would be deemed a major victory for the party, which will work toward maintaining its control of the Senate in 2024 after barely securing a majority in the 2022 midterms.

In Allred's announcement video, the ex-NFL linebacker alluded to the challenges a Democrat faces when trying to get elected in the Lone Star State, but it's a task he's tackled before.

Texas Rep. Colin Allred speaks in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on April 2, 2019. Allred has announced his 2024 Senate campaign against Ted Cruz. Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty

Allred's Successful History of Beating Republicans

In 2018, Allred defeated Republican incumbent Pete Sessions by nearly 7 points and almost 18,000 votes in an upset victory that landed Allred at Capitol Hill, according to Ballotpedia. Allred retained his seat for the next two elections, beating Republican challenger Genevieve Collins by 6 points in 2020 and sailing to victory again in 2022 when he beat Republican challenger Antonio Swad by nearly 33 points.

In 2024, Allred will take on another Republican challenger should he win the Democrat primary and go head-to-head with Cruz.

Non-partisan political consultant Jay Townsend told Newsweek that Allred is already off to a "promising start" with his campaign.

Townsend complimented Allred's campaign kick-off strategy and pointed out that Cruz is in for a fight.

"Few Senators are as despised as he. Even his 'friends' in the Senate don't like him. There are millions of Americans who will gladly give money to any democrat running against him, as they did in the 2018 race," Townsend said.

"Congressman Allred comes from the suburbs and understands the kind of messaging required to appeal to swing voters who will decide the election. He has a compelling story (Texans love football stars), a decent record, proven fund-raising skills and it will be hard to paint him a radical socialist liberal," Townsend added. "And if Republicans nominate Trump, even red-state Texas will be a toss-up."

As of April, Cruz's favorability ratings were split along party lines, according to The Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin. The ratings for April showed that 47 percent of Republican poll takers approved strongly of Cruz, with 31 percent approving somewhat. Eight percent of Republicans neither approved nor disapproved of Cruz, with 7 percent disapproving somewhat and only 4 percent strongly disapproved.

Most Democrats (68 percent) strongly disapproved of Cruz. Only 4 percent of Democrats strongly approved of Cruz, and 13 percent somewhat approved.

A handful of other Democrat candidates also have announced their goal of unseating Cruz, including state Senator Roland Gutierrez, who represents Uvalde, and Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner.

Cruz was elected to the Senate in 2012, beating Democrat challenger Paul Sadler by 16 points. Cruz, retaining his Senate seat through the 2016 presidential primaries, ran for reelection in 2018, when his victory was much narrower. Cruz beat Democrat challenger Beto O'Rourke by 2 points.

The senator has faced scrutiny during his second term after he flew to Cancun while Texans battled an ice storm and power grid failure in 2021 that killed more than 200 people. In his video, Allred also criticized Cruz's actions during the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack, accusing Cruz of spurring on the rioters while Allred prepared to "take on anyone" when protesters stormed the Capitol.

"I remember hearing the glass break and the shouts coming closer. I texted my wife 'Whatever happens, I love you,' then I took off my jacket and got ready to take on anyone who came through that door," Allred said in his campaign video. "And Ted Cruz? He cheered on the mob, then hid in a supply closet when they stormed the Capitol. But that's Ted for you. All hat, no cattle."

Update 5/3/23, 3:12 p.m. ET: This story was updated with comment from Jay Townsend.

monoblanco10 on May 3rd, 2023 at 19:39 UTC »

Winning a congressional seat in Dallas is one thing.

Winning a statewide race, against an incumbent, in Texas, when you're black, is another thing entirely.

I hope he wins.

But I ain't holdin my breath.

mastmar221 on May 3rd, 2023 at 19:35 UTC »

Phrasing!

newnemo on May 3rd, 2023 at 19:07 UTC »

I hope Cruz finds himself in some serious quicksand.

^

In 2018, Allred defeated Republican incumbent Pete Sessions by nearly 7 points and almost 18,000 votes in an upset victory that landed Allred at Capitol Hill, according to Ballotpedia. Allred retained his seat for the next two elections, beating Republican challenger Genevieve Collins by 6 points in 2020 and sailing to victory again in 2022 when he beat Republican challenger Antonio Swad by nearly 33 points.

.....

As of April, Cruz's favorability ratings were split along party lines, according to The Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin. The ratings for April showed that 47 percent of Republican poll takers approved strongly of Cruz, with 31 percent approving somewhat. Eight percent of Republicans neither approved nor disapproved of Cruz, with 7 percent disapproving somewhat and only 4 percent strongly disapproved.

Most Democrats (68 percent) strongly disapproved of Cruz. Only 4 percent of Democrats strongly approved of Cruz, and 13 percent somewhat approved.

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