Democrat Colin Allred Announces U.S. Senate Run Against John Cornyn

Former U.S. Rep. Colin Allred is running again for the U.S. Senate.

On Tuesday, the Dallas Democrat and civil rights attorney announced he will run for the seat that Republican John Cornyn has held for over 20 years. Allred lost to U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz in 2024 by 8 percentage points.

"I know Washington is broken," Allred said in a video announcing his campaign. "The system is rigged. But it doesn’t have to be this way."

Allred won’t be the only Democrat in the race. Last week, retired Houston astronaut Terry Virts officially launched his campaign.

U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro of San Antonio, former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke of El Paso and state Rep. James Talarico of Austin, have all said they are considering getting into the race.

Allred, 42, is a former NFL linebacker who earned an undergraduate degree from Baylor University.

"I’ve been a lot of things in life, but I’ve always been a fighter," he said.

For Democrats, the race for the U.S. Senate has spurred growing interest because of polling that shows Cornyn trailing his GOP primary opponent Ken Paxton, the current Texas attorney general.

If Paxton were to win the primary, Democrats believe he would be vulnerable because the Texas House voted in 2023 to impeach him from office, though the Texas Senate later acquitted him.