Sen. Ted Cruz drew a top shelf challenger Wednesday as Democratic Rep. Colin Allred announced he is running to unseat the conservative two-term Texas lawmaker in 2024.
Allred, a rising star and retired pro football star from Dallas, launched his campaign by portraying himself as a fighter who took on the Jan. 6 mob while Cruz egged them on — and cowered in a closet during the attack.
“That’s Ted for you: All hat and no cattle,” Allred said.
Allred trashed Cruz for fleeing to Cancun when Texas was hit by a historic winter storm and prioritizing extremist right-wing culture war squabbles over the needs of everyday people.
“He’ll do anything to get on Fox News,” Allred said. “The struggles of regular Texans just don’t interest him. You know this.”
Cruz countered that Allred backs liberal Democratic policies that have led to thousands moving to Texas.
“Texans have not embraced these disastrous policies that we see in blue states across the country,” Cruz told reporters on Capitol Hill.
Cruz, who lost to former President Donald Trump in the 2016 GOP presidential primary, narrowly beat back a stronger-than-expected challenge from ex-Rep. Beto O’Rourke in 2018.
Democrats, who hold a 51-49 edge in the Senate, face a very difficult map in 2024 with three incumbents facing reelection fights in states that Trump won by wide margins.
The only Republican senators who are considered even potentially vulnerable are Cruz and Florida’s Sen. Rick Scott.
Texas Democrats hope Allred can become their first candidate to win a statewide race in years as demographic changes have eroded the Lone Star state’s status as a solid GOP stronghold.
Allred first won his seat in an upset in 2018 and is considered the strongest Democratic challenger to Cruz. He will have to relinquish his now-solidly blue seat to make the Senate run.
Like other Democrats, he signaled abortion rights would be a big issue after Texas Republicans enacted a near total ban on abortion and even a law that allows anyone to sue those who help a woman get one.
“Some people say a Democrat can never win in Texas,” he said. “[But] I’ve taken down a lot tougher guys than Ted Cruz. Let’s get on the field and find out.”