Colin Allred launches Democratic challenge to Ted Cruz
Rep Colin Allred (D-Texas) speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington on Wednesday, June 24, 2020. Allred says he’ll run for the U.S. Senate in 2024, becoming an early challenger to Republican Sen. Ted Cruz. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)
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(The Hill) – Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas) launched a challenge to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R) reelection bid in 2024 on Wednesday, slamming Cruz as only caring about himself.
Allred said in a video posted on his Twitter account that he was prepared to “take on anyone who came through” during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, while the video points to a comment that a rioter made saying he believed Cruz “would want us to do this.”
The congressman notes then that Cruz hid in a supply closet during the attack.
He also mentioned Cruz’s family trip to Cancun, Mexico, in February 2021 during extreme winter weather conditions in Texas that knocked out power for millions in the state, leaving them “freezing in the dark.”
“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 footage, adding that 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,” he continued. “Well, they matter to me because those struggles are the story of my life.”
The video explains how Allred was formerly a linebacker in the National Football League before being elected to Congress. He also claimed in the video that he has worked with Republicans to support veterans, pass a new trade deal with Mexico and bring manufacturing jobs back to the United States.
“We deserve a senator whose team is Texas, but Ted Cruz only cares about himself,” he said. “You know that.”
A Democrat has not served as a senator representing Texas in 30 years, but the race will likely be one of the few potential pickup opportunities for Democrats with a 2024 map that does not give many others.
Cruz defeated former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D) for reelection to his second term by about 2.5 points in 2018, making it one of the closest races of the year.
Allred acknowledged that “some people say a Democrat can’t win in Texas” but argued that “someone like me was never supposed to get this far” and he has “taken down a lot tougher guys than Ted Cruz.”
The Hill has reached out to Cruz for comment.
