Former Democratic Congressman Colin Allred is once again jumping into Texas's high-stakes political arena, announcing Tuesday that he will run for U.S. Senate in 2026—this time setting his sights on longtime Republican Senator John Cornyn.
Allred’s campaign launch comes just months after his failed 2024 bid against Senator Ted Cruz, a race he lost by nearly nine points despite early signs of competitiveness. Now, Allred is entering what could be a crowded Democratic primary, with his eyes on a general election that may feature a wounded Republican incumbent or an even more polarizing figure: state Attorney General Ken Paxton.
In a launch video Tuesday, Allred took direct aim at both Cornyn and Paxton, calling them “too corrupt to care about us and too weak to fight for us.”
“I know Washington is broken. The system is rigged. But it doesn’t have to be this way,” Allred said, while highlighting his personal journey from being raised by a single mother in Dallas to playing linebacker in the NFL, and eventually serving three terms in Congress.
Allred first flipped a Republican-held House seat in 2018 during a Democratic wave and was seen as a rising star in the party. But his Senate loss to Cruz last year underscored the challenges Democrats continue to face in Texas, where GOP candidates—especially under the Trump-era brand—have made inroads with key voting blocs, particularly Latino voters in the southern part of the state.
Allred's messaging this time appears to be more populist, tapping into frustration with both the political establishment and the far-right wing of the Republican Party. His campaign sees an opportunity if the GOP primary becomes a slugfest between Cornyn, a mainstay of the Republican Senate leadership, and Paxton, a staunch Trump ally who has been dogged by legal and ethics scandals.
A Paxton victory in the GOP primary could give Democrats their best shot in years at flipping a Texas Senate seat. But getting through the Democratic primary won’t be easy. Allred is already facing a challenge from former astronaut Terry Virts, and speculation is mounting that Rep. Joaquin Castro may join the race. Meanwhile, former Senate and gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke has been holding town halls and hasn’t ruled out another statewide run.
Republicans were quick to respond to Allred’s announcement. Chris Gustafson, a spokesman for the Senate Leadership Fund, labeled Allred “an out-of-touch Washington, DC liberal” and slammed his positions on immigration, gun rights, and transgender athletes in sports.
“Texas voters have already rejected Allred for the radical liberal he is, and they’ll do it again next fall,” Gustafson said.
Despite the tough terrain, Democrats continue to hope demographic shifts and Republican infighting might finally open a path to victory. But recent trends—including former President Trump’s growing support among Latino voters in Texas’s border regions—have kept the state solidly red.
