Democratic Rep. Colin Allred announced Wednesday a 2024 bid against Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas that leans heavily into the Republican incumbent’s actions on Jan. 6, 2021.
Mr. Allred, a former professional football player, said Mr. Cruz “cheered on the mob” and then hid while supporters of former President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol.
“That’s Ted for you. All hat, no cattle,” Mr. Allred said in a three-minute launch video.
I’m running for U.S. Senate because Texans deserve a Senator whose team is Texas. Ted Cruz only cares about himself.
— Colin Allred (@ColinAllredTX) May 3, 2023
Join our campaign today: https://t.co/2dROrrQrPV pic.twitter.com/9iz9yu1rFb
Mr. Allred scored an upset victory in 2018 in his Dallas-area district and won reelection in 2020.
He will have his work cut out for him in a statewide run in Texas, which Democrats insist is tilting blue, only to be disappointed on Election Day.
Mr. Cruz, who ran for president in 2016, is a well-known conservative with a national profile. He survived a scare in his 2018 reelection battle against Beto O’Rourke, a Democrat who used his surprising run to launch an unsuccessful campaign for president in 2020.
“Just like Beto O’Rourke before him, Colin Allred is going to quickly regret giving up his safe House seat to run yet another doomed, Democrat vanity campaign in Texas,” said Philip Letsou, a spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
The Cruz campaign hit Mr. Allred as “out-of-touch” with Texas, citing his voting record.
“Allred wants men to compete in women’s sports, isn’t serious about addressing the crisis at the border, wants to take away law-abiding Texans’ guns and is soft on punishing murderers,” the campaign said. “Bottom line, Allred is too extreme for Texas.”
Mr. Allred tried to chip away at Mr. Cruz’s credentials in the video. He pointed to the senator’s short-lived trip to Mexico after storms knocked out power in Texas in early 2021, and said Mr. Cruz tends to spend time on culture wars “but not a minute trying to raise wages or lower drug prices.”
“The struggles of regular Texans just don’t interest him,” Mr. Allred said. “Well, they matter to me.”
Mr. Allred’s video also traces his personal story. He said he never knew his father as a boy growing up with a single mom in Texas, so he is committed to being a good dad.
The video highlights Mr. Allred’s football and law career and efforts to reach across the aisle on issues like veterans’ care and a rewrite of the North American trade deal during the Trump era.
“We don’t have to be embarrassed by our senator,” Mr. Allred said. “We can get a new one … I’ve taken down a lot tougher guys than Ted Cruz.”
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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