Former Rep. Colin Allred has officially folded his Senate ambitions again, and the timing could not be more perfect if you enjoy watching Democrats scramble right before a filing deadline. Allred bailed out Monday morning, leaving Texas’ already chaotic Democrat lineup even messier as rumors swirl that Rep. Jasmine Crockett is about to jump into the race and turn the whole thing into a clown car with campaign signs.
Allred tried to frame his decision as some kind of noble sacrifice. He said, “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 [Attorney General Ken Paxton, Sen. John Cornyn, R Texas, or Rep. Wesley Hunt, R Texas].” Translation, he took a look at the field, saw the progressive activists sharpening their knives, and decided Congress might be safer.
He is now running in Texas’ newly redrawn 33rd Congressional District, which dumps Tarrant County and shifts more heavily into Dallas County. That also puts him on a collision course with Rep. Julie Johnson, a Democrat hopping districts to survive the GOP led map changes. Allred is pretending the seat was racially gerrymandered by Trump, which is interesting since Trump does not draw congressional maps in Texas. But when Democrats need a villain, they all reach for the same name. He added that the district is home, where he grew up and watched his mother struggle, which is political shorthand for please clap.
Allred’s résumé is the standard Democratic starter kit by now. Former NFL linebacker at Baylor, civil rights attorney, flipped a suburban House seat in 2018, beat the same drum through 2022, then spent 2024 burning donor cash trying to unseat Ted Cruz. Cruz beat him by eight points, which apparently did not stop Allred from launching a second Senate bid last summer. What did stop him was a little thing called competition. State Rep. James Talarico jumped in, followed by rumors of Crockett barreling toward the filing window.
And speaking of Crockett, that is where things get entertaining. She has built a national profile by comparing President Trump to Adolf Hitler and accusing Republicans of embracing fascism. Democrats love that stuff. She was even given a speaking slot at their convention despite barely having seniority. Now she may take her social media flamethrower straight into a Senate primary.
Meanwhile, Republicans have their own brawl brewing. Sen. John Cornyn faces challenges from Ken Paxton and Wesley Hunt. So Texas is shaping up exactly how Trump era politics likes it, clear choices, no illusions, and no shortage of Democrats panicking before the buzzer.
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