Allred, a former NFL linebacker, towered over most people there. But imposing stature — physically, politically — didn’t seem to ding the approachability of the high-profile Democrat who had recently launched his bid for U.S. Senate.
Excitement filled the air of the Pride Month celebration. So did tension.
Texas lawmakers were behind one-fifth of the nation’s anti-LGBTQ+ legislation this year. Throughout the 88th Legislature, LGBTQ+ Texans fought against measures that sought to erase them from school library books and ban gender-affirming care.
And the Pride event was held less than a month after a self-described white supremacist gunned down shoppers at an Allen outlet mall some 28 miles away from Fair Park.
The broader cultural backdrop of creeping queerphobia tinged parade-goers’ technicolor revelry with pallid trepidation. Allred’s presence seemed to soothe some of that worry.
As booming bass from pop songs blared throughout the fairgrounds, a man walked up to Allred. He thanked the congressman for showing up and at some point started to cry. Allred listened attentively, unhurried. The two hugged.
Allred then stepped into the shade of a mature tree adjacent to the sun-soaked parking lot to talk with the Observer.
“I've always come to Pride, and I think it's really important. But I do think that this year, it’s probably taken on even greater importance,” he said, furrowing his brow. “I was just talking to one of the folks here … who was saying that he didn't put out a Pride flag this year because he was worried about somebody attacking his house. And I hear that a lot.”
So proud to walk in the @dallasprideorg parade today alongside the tireless @hrc volunteers! It’s been a tough few years for LGBTQ+ Texans but together we will change that and build a state where everyone can live free from discrimination.
— Colin Allred (@ColinAllredTX) June 4, 2023
Happy pride y’all! pic.twitter.com/LMMQ1r5dL4
The way he sees it, Texas can’t afford another six years of U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, the much-reviled Republican and self-appointed general of the conservative culture wars. Allred adopted a tagline arguing as much in his campaign’s announcement video.
“We don’t have to be embarrassed by our senator,” he says in the ad that announces his entry into the 2024 Democratic primary. “We can get a new one.”
He makes it sound simple, but Allred knows that winning in red meat-hungry Texas will be tough. The last time a Lone Star liberal served in the U.S. Senate was three decades ago, in 1993.
Democratic wunderkind Beto O’Rourke came pretty close, inching within 2.6 points of defeating Cruz in 2018. Lots has happened in the years since.
Cruz has continued to make enemies and further cement himself as a torchbearer of the GOP’s MAGA wing. Donald Trump, whose unlikeability among Democrats undeniably boosted O’Rourke’s Senate campaign, is no longer president (although he’s again gunning for the White House). Trump’s Democratic successor will be up for reelection next year, and he isn’t exactly popular either.
While Allred is no longer a mainstay on the football field, he’s currently in training for the match of his life.
The congressman’s wife was seven months pregnant when he sent the text he feared could be his last.
It was Jan. 6, 2021, and a swarm of rioters — emboldened by then-President Trump’s bogus claims of a stolen election — had begun to overwhelm police at the U.S. Capitol. The mob erected makeshift gallows and threatened to hang the vice president. They wanted to hunt down Democrats, too, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi chief among them.
When news of the insurrection first broke, Allred was on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives, a practically sacred secular space. But any illusion of security soon shattered.
“Whatever happens, I love you,” Allred texted his wife. He then took off his jacket and prepared to defend the door.
Luckily he didn’t have to. Allred and his fellow lawmakers were able to escape, but the country’s reputation has suffered in the years since, he said. When Allred travels internationally for work, he’ll get asked whether U.S. democracy will be OK.
The insurrection is “something that shook the whole world,” Allred said. “And Ted Cruz was one of the main architects.”
Cruz is a shrewd lawyer, a masterful actor of political theater. He led a chorus of congressional Republicans in objecting to the certification of President Joe Biden’s win, falsely claiming that the 2020 election was rigged against Trump.
Allred recalls wondering to himself: Why was the Texas senator refuting results in Arizona, “a different state that he knows nothing about”?
January 2021 was a bad-press month for Cruz. He suffered another self-inflicted black eye in the weeks to come.
That February, Winter Storm Uri left millions of Texans without power and under boil-water notices amid plunging temperatures. Reports of fatalities vary, but some outlets put the number as high as 700. Cruz was the target of the state’s ire when he was caught flying to Cancun while his constituents froze. In the years following the thaw, it’s become the subject of countless jokes.
Cruz himself has since tried to capitalize on that punchline. Allred isn’t laughing. Two men in his district died from carbon monoxide poisoning while trying to warm themselves with a gas-powered generator.
“I didn't think it was funny at all, because I was on the phone at the same time with FEMA, things like state relief agencies, trying to direct resources to help people who were in real danger,” he said. “I couldn't imagine representing 30 million Texans and thinking that was a good time to go on vacation.
“And that attitude, as much as the action, told me he was somebody who shouldn't be in office anymore.”
Jasmine LeNoir said the congressman has been “good for our community. He’s done things around Dallas, too, for DART and things like that.” Spouse Sheri added: “He pays attention to what people really want and less about culture wars.”
Those culture wars have ramped up considerably in recent years, prompting some LGBTQ+ folks to flee the state. The LeNoirs have also devised a five-year contingency plan.
The Senate needs leaders who ground their politics in reality, not those who cast stones at “some made-up boogeyman,” Sheri said. There are real problems affecting everyday Texans — like the state’s unreliable power grid — that could desperately use lawmakers’ focus.
Practical politics isn’t always sexy. Battles in the culture wars score points for lawmakers on either side of the partisan divide.
Yet Allred remains steadfast in pursuing something that he says takes a backseat for Cruz: actual policymaking. In a subsequent phone interview, he contrasted their legislative styles.
“I think it’s pretty clear if you watch either of us in a hearing, you can see that there's a big difference between the two of us,” Allred said. “I'm not somebody who’s going to be yelling and trying to badger people. I’m usually trying to find common ground and get answers.”
Allred prioritizes bipartisanship during a time of rising tribalism.
He and a GOP representative from Florida announced the creation of the Collegiate Sports Caucus in May. Several years ago, Allred led an effort to secure a Veterans Affairs health facility in Garland alongside then-U.S. Rep. Ron Wright, the late Texas Republican. And he helped pass the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, with $5.47 billion pouring into Texas in 2023 to repair bridges and roads.
Allred also backed a gun violence-prevention bill championed by Texas Sen. John Cornyn, a Republican. Cruz did not.
“What I've seen in my time in Congress is that there are basically two types of folks: There's workhorses pushing to get stuff done and actually help people, and there’s show horses who want to get in front of cameras, who want to get a lot of attention on themselves, that don't really do much to help their constituents,” Allred said. “I consider myself a workhorse. Ted Cruz is a show horse.”
Buzz is building around Allred. Earlier this month his campaign celebrated a fundraising milestone. In 59 days he generated $6.2 million, an amount The Texas Tribune reported took O’Rourke nine months to raise.
O’Rourke is a former congressman who represented a safe Democratic district in El Paso. Republicans often gleefully point out that he’s since suffered defeat in all three of his latest campaigns: the Senate race in 2018, the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination and the gubernatorial election last year.
While O’Rourke did much to mobilize left-leaning voters, Cruz is organizationally smart, said Matt Angle, director of the Lone Star Project, a Democratic research group.
“Now, I think that Colin brings some different things to the table than Beto,” he added, “and most important is Colin has beaten a Republican in a competitive environment before.”
The former Tennessee Titans linebacker waved to the Dallas crowd on the night of Nov. 6, 2018. He stood in front of a backdrop of red, white and blue balloons, his wife — lawyer Alexandra Eber — beaming at his side. After retiring from the NFL, Allred attended law school and became a civil rights attorney. Now, in a surprise upset, he was headed to Congress.
Republican Pete Sessions had served Texas’ Congressional District 32, which stretched across parts of Dallas and Collin counties, since 2003. (Prior to that, he’d repped the 5th district for several years.)
Polls favored the seasoned GOP congressman to win. Allred would ultimately best Sessions by more than 6 points.
“You better believe that the only thing that will matter to me in Congress is what’s good for us right here,” Allred said during his victory speech, eliciting cheers. “So, I hope that we can enjoy tonight — enjoy maybe tomorrow too — and then we’ve got to get to work.”
During last month’s Pride celebration, state Rep. Venton Jones greeted Allred where the pro-LGBTQ+ Human Rights Campaign had made camp. Jones, a Dallas Democrat, recently became the Texas Capitol’s first Black gay lawmaker openly living with HIV.
Jones thinks Allred will give Cruz a run for his money. Engagement will be crucial in the upcoming race, he said.
“I think that because of the early announcement of Colin, that allows that to happen: to be able to see him, to be able to learn more about his agenda and to really get people excited about participation in the 2024 election,” Jones said.
Since his campaign’s launch in early May, Allred has worked to expand his name recognition. A poll published later that same month put him just 5 points behind Cruz.
The Dallas congressman was early to enter the Democratic primary, but another Senate hopeful soon followed suit. San Antonio state Sen. Roland Gutierrez threw his hat in the ring on July 10. Both Allred’s and Cruz’s campaigns welcomed him to the race.
Lone Star Project’s Angle said that during his 30-plus years involved in Texas politics, he’s seen some great senators on both sides of the aisle, including Democrat Lloyd Bentsen and Republicans Kay Bailey Hutchison and John Tower. Cruz, he argued, is like having no senator at all: “We’ve just got a provocateur who wears the title of Texas senator.”
The effort to boot the incumbent is gaining traction thanks to the new Lose Cruz super PAC, which Angle supports. He said Cruz spends more time promoting his podcast than he does helping Texas. The “non-serious elected official” embraces the role of partisan instigator, picking online fights with A-list celebrities and Sesame Street muppets.
Allred has secured exemplary ratings from the AFL-CIO labor union coalition. Beyond his Democratic appeal, he’s proven he can attract moderate conservatives and independents, having received endorsements from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
The vacancy left by Allred likely won’t result in District 32 flipping red, Angle said. Republican lawmakers gerrymandered it into a Democratic stronghold to make surrounding districts less competitive.
Could Allred really beat the political odds and land in the U.S. Senate, though? Angle acknowledges it won’t be easy: “It's going to take a lot of money. It's going to take a lot of organization, but Colin is in a position to beat Ted Cruz.
“If it's possible [for Cruz] to be less liked than he was in 2018, he is now.”
Many politicians superficially tout family values. Allred walks the walk. The congressman, who had shown up to the Pride parade with his family in tow, paused during our interview after one of his young sons ran up.
Munching on Goldfish crackers, the boy sought attention from his dad. Allred obliged before returning to our conversation.
In many ways, Allred embodies a new kind of masculinity. Here’s this Texas-bred former NFL athlete who has fiercely advocated for paid parental leave. He was the first known congressman to ignore the stigma and take paternity leave himself, first in 2019 and again in 2021.
Allred was born at Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas and grew up in Oak Lawn before moving to North Dallas. He was raised by a single mom who worked as a public school teacher, although she held down another job to make ends meet.
“But you know, I relied on our community. I went to the YMCA a lot; it’s where my first job was, where I spent every summer, every day off from school,” he said. “I had a lot of parents and coaches who kind of went the extra mile for me, so I feel very much like I was raised by a village — and that village just happened to be Dallas.”
A gifted student athlete, Allred reportedly played football, baseball and basketball at North Dallas’ Hillcrest High School. His football prowess earned him a full-ride scholarship to Baylor University, where he graduated in 2005. Next up was the NFL.
Allred retired from pro sports because of a neck injury after five seasons, then headed to UC Berkeley School of Law. He worked in the Department of Housing and Urban Development under then-Secretary Julián Castro, a fellow Texan who’d later vie for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.
Eventually it was back home to Dallas and the start of his congressional career.
Leading up to the 2018 race, Allred thought that Sessions didn’t mirror the Dallas community he knew growing up. Today he feels the same about Cruz and Texas.
“We’re a dynamic, diverse, growing state. We are not a small, scared state,” Allred said. “And that's what I think Ted Cruz kind of represents us as: All the things that we should be afraid of, all the people that we should be worried about, instead of seeing our diversity as a strength.”
It’s just a matter of time before Texas’ politics catch up to better reflect its people, he added: “And I think it’s going to be in this election.”
