AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Democratic U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, a former NFL player who broke with his party over President Joe Biden’s handling of the U.S.-Mexico border, won his Senate primary Tuesday to propel an underdog campaign to unseat Republican Sen. Ted Cruz.
Allred fended off his biggest Democratic challenger, state Sen. Roland Gutierrez, who became an outspoken voice for stricter gun laws after the Uvalde school shooting and courted the party’s left wing.
“We don’t have to be embarrassed by our senator,” Allred said in a speech to supporters. “We can get a new one and that’s what this is all about.”
No Democrat has won a statewide office in Texas in 30 years, the longest losing streak of its kind in the U.S. Despite that, Democrats believe Texas and Florida are their best shot for upsets in November as they try to preserve a slim 51-49 advantage in the Senate. That majority includes West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, who is not seeking reelection and whose seat is likely to flip Republican.
Cruz, who faced no major primary opponent, officially locked up the GOP nomination. He has raised more than $46 million in his bid to secure a third six-year term.
“I look forward to continuing to meet Texans in every corner of the state as we work together to ensure that we keep Texas, Texas,” Cruz said in a statement.
Allred, 40, has ousted a Republican incumbent before, taking advantage of shifting demographics in a U.S. House district in Dallas held for more than two decades by former GOP U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions to win his congressional seat in 2018. That same year, Cruz narrowly beat Beto O’Rourke for reelection by less than 3 percentage points. It was the closest Democrats have come in decades to winning a statewide seat and happened during a midterm election that wound up being a strong year for Democrats nationally.
Texas Democrats have struggled to recapture that momentum since then. O’Rourke
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