Former Texas Rep. Colin Allred has dropped out of the U.S. Senate Democratic primary in the Lone Star State.
Allred, a former NFL linebacker who held multiple positions in the Obama administration, was the party’s nominee in an unsuccessful effort to defeat Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) in 2024.
“I am deeply moved by the personal stories and trust that so many Texans have placed in me. I’m forever grateful and believe it comes with heavy responsibility,” Allred wrote on X.
“That’s why I’ve made the difficult decision to end my campaign for Senate and run to represent the newly drawn CD-33,” he continued.
“I’ve come to believe that a bruising Senate Democratic primary and runoff would prevent the Democratic Party from going into this critical election unified against the danger posed to our communities and our Constitution by Donald Trump and one of his Republican bootlickers Paxton, Cornyn, or Hunt,” Allred said in a statement.
I am deeply moved by the personal stories and trust that so many Texans have placed in me. I’m forever grateful and believe it comes with heavy responsibility.
That’s why I’ve made the difficult decision to end my campaign for Senate and run to represent the newly drawn CD-33. pic.twitter.com/ABCioIHDVc
— Colin Allred (@ColinAllredTX) December 8, 2025
Fox News has more:
Allred said he would instead run in the newly-redrawn 33rd Congressional District in Texas, which is currently represented by Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Texas, under previously-created boundaries.
It’s not clear yet where Veasey will run for re-election in 2026, but Allred is already expected to face a primary against current Rep. Julie Johnson, D-Texas. Johnson is switching districts to run in the newly-redrawn 33rd, which now includes more of Dallas County while cutting out areas of nearby Tarrant County.
“The 33rd district was racially gerrymandered by Trump in an effort to further rig our democracy but it’s also the community where I grew up attending public schools and watching my mom struggle to pay for our groceries,” Allred said.
The Supreme Court last week upheld a new congressional map passed by the GOP-dominated Texas legislature and signed into law by longtime Republican Gov. Greg Abbott that creates five more right-leaning House districts in the Lone Star State.
Allred, a college football star at Baylor University who went on to play linebacker with the Tennessee Titans in the National Football League (NFL) and later worked as a civil rights lawyer, was first elected to the House in 2018, flipping a red seat. He won re-elections in his Dallas area district in 2020 and 2022.
The Senate Democratic primary is expected to get more crowded this week with the anticipated entrance of Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX).
JUST IN: Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) expected to launch Senate campaign ahead of candidate filing deadline
The two-term congresswoman would join a Senate primary that’s expected to feature state Rep. James Talarico and former U.S. Rep. Colin Allred.https://t.co/RaMbgSM7g1
— InteractivePolls (@IAPolls2022) December 7, 2025
The Texas Tribune explained further:
The pivot brings an end to Allred’s Senate campaign after just over five months. He entered the race with high name recognition from his past statewide run and was found to be ahead of Paxton in multiple public polls of the general election. And he had the bona fides of having flipped a Republican-held House seat in 2018 and outperforming Vice President Kamala Harris by about 5 percentage points last year — though he lost to Cruz by a still-resounding 8.5 points.
But Crockett and Talarico are both viral sensations who have raised millions as nationally recognizable personalities — Crockett from quick-witted clapbacks against Republicans and frequent appearances on cable television, and Talarico as a progressive Presbyterian who blends his Christian faith with populist politics.
An October poll of a hypothetical primary between Allred, Crockett, Talarico and former Congressman Beto O’Rourke found Allred in last.
As Crockett’s entry into the Senate race became more likely, Texas Democrats began to fret — publicly and privately — about the damage that a bruising primary could bring.
The fear was not a new one. Over the summer, Allred, Talarico, O’Rourke and San Antonio Rep. Joaquin Castro met to try to form a slate for various statewide offices — such as Senate, governor and attorney general — rather than all run for the same position. But the Senate race represented too big a draw for them to work out a deal.