Allred wins Democratic primary to take on Cruz for Senate
U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, a former NFL player who flipped a Dallas congressional district in 2018, will take on U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz in one of the most closely watched Senate races in the nation.
In Tuesday’s primary election, Allred led a crowded field of Democrats by a wide margin. The Associated Press called the race around 10:30 p.m.
“Ted Cruz has had 12 years of pitting us against each other,” Allred said. “It’s time we had a senator who will bring us together, I’ll be that senator. We’ve had enough of me guys. We is much more powerful than me. We can do this together.”
State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, a progressive San Antonio Democrat who launched his campaign after the Uvalde school shooting, conceded Tuesday evening. Gutierrez was in second place with seven other Democrats in the race trailing far behind.
Speaking at an election watch event, surrounded by families whose children were killed during the Robb Elementary School shooting, Gutierrez reiterated calls for an assault weapons ban and vowed to work with Allred to unseat Cruz.
“I stopped crying about elections a long time ago,” he said, according to a video posted on social media. “We’ve got a fight that’s still yet to go in this state, and we’re going to make sure we do that. But I cry everyday over their children.”
The results indicate Allred’s approach, pitching himself to voters as a pragmatic and bipartisan alternative who has proven he can beat an incumbent Republican, appealed to the state’s Democrats.
Cruz, a two-term incumbent, is seen as one of the only potentially vulnerable Republicans in the Senate after narrowly winning reelection against Beto O’rourke in 2018.
Cruz easily defeated his two GOP primary challengers. The 53-year-old has dismissed his Democratic competition as too far left for Texas. But the Republican has nonetheless issued urgent fundraising pleas and said he expects another tough reelection fight ahead.
“This race is about our law enforcement officers, our parents, farmers, ranchers, students, oil and gas workers, neighbors, and pastors, who are proud to call the Lone Star State home,” Cruz said in a statement. “This is about Texas, about building bridges, fighting for our cadets, expanding highways, creating jobs, and protecting the state that we cherish so deeply. Never before has it been more important to unify and fight against the radical left who threaten to change what makes this state great.”
No Democrat has won statewide in Texas in 30 years.
Allred, a civil rights attorney, led in polling throughout the primary and outpaced Gutierrez in fundraising by roughly $20 million. He spent nearly $13 million, including on TV ads in Dallas and Houston, as he tried to introduce himself to voters and seal up the race. He still has more than $8 million on hand.
The two-term U.S. representative largely ignored the eight other Democrats in the race and focused squarely on Cruz, one of the most conservative members of the Senate, who Allred argued is out of step with most Texans. The moderate Democrat has stressed the need to reach across the aisle as he has campaigned on voting and abortion rights.
Gutierrez, meanwhile, went straight after Allred as he tried to generate competition in the race, criticizing the Dallas lawmaker’s focus on moderation. Gutierrez staked out a series of positions to Allred’s left, calling for “Medicare for All” while slamming Allred for supporting border barriers and refusing to back calls for a cease-fire in Israel’s war with Hamas.
Allred thanked Gutierrez for running a race based on the issues and said the primary “made me a better candidate.”