Ex-NFL player Colin Allred Launches Challenge to Ted Cruz for Senate Seat – Colin Allred, a former NFL linebacker, has announced his campaign for the upcoming Senate elections in Texas, in which he will be challenging the incumbent senator Ted Cruz. Allred launched his campaign with a video that alluded to the January 6 attack on Congress by supporters of former President Trump, which Cruz referred to as “peaceful protesters” – a statement that has faced widespread criticism.
“I’ve taken down a lot tougher guys than Ted Cruz,” Allred said. At the age of 40, Allred, who previously played college football for Baylor in Texas and later played 32 games for the Tennessee Titans between 2007 and 2010, became a rare Democrat in the Republican-dominated state of Texas when he entered Congress in 2019. Since then, he has managed to expand his majority.
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Although the Democrats currently hold the majority in the Senate, the upcoming elections in 2024 present a challenging map for them. If they manage to gain ground in Texas, it would come as a surprise, but it would also serve as a morale boost for activists who believe that the state is increasingly shifting towards progressive ideals.
During the January 6, 2021, attack on Congress by Trump supporters who were encouraged by the former president and his Republican allies, including Ted Cruz, the objective was to prevent the certification of Joe Biden’s election win, which Trump falsely alleged was due to electoral fraud.
In his campaign announcement video, Colin Allred criticized Cruz for objecting to the election results, along with 146 other Republicans, even after the riot, which is now associated with nine deaths, including suicides by law enforcement officers. Allred also pointed out Cruz’s admission of hiding in a closet during the attack.
“When I left the NFL,” Allred said, walking on a football field, “I thought my days of putting people on the ground were over. Then, January 6 happened.” “I remember hearing the glass breaking and the shouts coming closer. I texted my wife: ‘Whatever happens, I love you.’ Then I took off my jacket and got ready to take on anyone who came through that door.”
In addition to highlighting Cruz’s controversial actions during the January 6 attack on Congress, Colin Allred also criticized him for his widely-publicized trip to Cancun during Texas’ devastating winter storm, which resulted in widespread power outages.
Allred also highlighted perceived policy failures by Cruz before delving into his own personal life story. On Twitter, Allred added: “I’ve taken down a lot tougher guys than Ted Cruz, but I can’t do this without your help.” Ted Cruz, who is now 53 years old, first became a member of Congress in 2013.
During the 2016 Republican presidential primary, he finished second to Donald Trump, despite their early rivalry in which Trump had insulted Cruz’s wife and father. Cruz eventually fell in line with most of his party and supported Trump. According to Paul Manafort, a former Trump aide, the former president even issued a rare apology to Cruz.
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In the usually collegial Senate, Cruz is famously unpopular. Al Franken, the former Democratic senator from Minnesota, once said: “I like Ted Cruz more than most of my other colleagues like Ted Cruz. And I hate Ted Cruz.” During the 2018 Senate election in Texas, Ted Cruz faced a formidable challenge from Beto O’Rourke, a former Democratic congressman. Cruz narrowly emerged victorious, winning by a margin of less than three percentage points.
Speaking to the Dallas Morning News, Allred said Texas “can’t afford six more years of Ted Cruz”. He added: “The political extremism that we are becoming increasingly known for is a real risk to our business community and our path forward. It’s making some folks say they don’t want to send their kids to school in our state. We can go in a different direction.”
