We begin today with Patrick Svitek of the Texas Tribune reporting that there’s a good chance that U.S. Rep. Colin Allred (D-TX32) will challenge the incumbent Republican Ted Cruz for the U.S. Senate seat in Texas in 2024.
Politico first reported Monday that Allred could launch a bid against Cruz as soon as this week. The two sources who spoke to The Texas Tribune were not authorized to publicly discuss Allred’s plans, and aides to the representative did not respond to requests for comment Monday.
Allred would begin the campaign as a major underdog in a state that has not elected a Democrat to statewide office since 1994. Beto O’Rourke ran a surprisingly tight race against Cruz in 2018 — losing by less than 3 percentage points — but Democrats have not come as close since then.
The race is not without risk for Allred. He would have to give up his newly safe seat in Congress, where he has been rising within the Democratic caucus.
Allred also is likely to have credible primary competition. State Sen. Roland Gutierrez of San Antonio is poised to run, though he is unlikely to make any announcements until after the current legislative session, which ends May 29.