Former Rep. Colin Allred, D-Texas, will again run to represent Texas in the U.S. Senate, his campaign announced on July 1.
Allred is the first notable Democratic candidate in a Senate race that is likely to garner national attention and funding. The former NFL linebacker previously ran for Senate in 2024 against Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who won by 8.5 percentage points.
If Allred wins the primary in March, he would be up against the winner of a bruising GOP primary battle between incumbent Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Texas has long been a Republican stronghold, but Democrats have viewed the state as within reach as its Democratic voter base has grown over the last few election cycles.
“The people that we elected to help – politicians like John Cornyn and Ken Paxton – are too corrupt to care about us and too weak to fight for us,” Allred said in a video announcing his campaign. “I know Washington is broken. The system is rigged. But it doesn’t have to be this way.”
Allred is likely to benefit from the messy politics of the state’s upcoming GOP primary race. Paxton is leading Cornyn in early polls.
Democrats are optimistic they could mount a strong campaign against Paxton, who is trailed by scandals, if he is the nominee.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Colin Allred launches 2026 campaign for US Senate
