Former NFL linebacker Rep. Colin Allred looks to tackle Sen. Ted Cruz in upcoming election

U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, a Dallas Democrat who already has made the leap from the NFL to law school and then to Congress, is looking to take yet another leap – this time to the U.S. Senate.

Allred announced plans to challenge three-term incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz in early May and raised more than $2 million in donations in the first 36 hours of his campaign, well over the $1.26 million Cruz was able to secure in three months, according to a statement from Allred's team.

To be sure, whether on immigration or bipartisanship, Allred is hyper-focused on having a "very different approach to the job" than Cruz.

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"I don't think he reflects the Texas that I know," Allred said in a phone call. "I think he's been one of the most divisive figures in the country. I think he's not doing the job we elected him to do."

Allred, who will have to face off against San Antonio law professor and retired Navy Capt. Steven Keough in the March 5 Texas Democratic primary before taking on Cruz, pointed to Cruz's jaunt to Cancun while Texans were braving freezing temperatures with no power in 2021 as just one of the senator's many failures during his tenure in Washington.

"That's not the Texas that I know," he said, "and it's also not about representing us."

And he's gotten some early support from someone he called his "best friend in the House," U.S Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso, who took to Twitter after Allred's announcement to call on Texas voters for support.

"So proud of my dear friend (Rep. Colin Allred) who has been there for his family, his constituents, his colleagues and community time and again," Escobar said in the tweet, which included an Allred campaign video. "Let’s be there for him as he takes on Ted Cruz and works for all of Texas!"

The road from Dallas to Washington

Allred is a fourth-generation Texan raised in Dallas by a single mother who worked as a teacher, which saw the family and young Allred relying on the local YMCA and other community organizations for support as money was often tight.

And while that experience gave him a heightened appreciation for community, his summers spent in Brownsville with his grandmother gave him a keen awareness of the realities of living in a border town.

"I feel very much like Brownsville is an important part of my childhood," Allred said.

After graduating high school in Dallas, where he played baseball, basketball and football, Allred accepted a scholarship to play linebacker for Baylor University, where he was an All-Big 12 honorable mention and graduated in December 2005 with a degree in history.

Allred was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Tennessee Titans in 2006 and made his regular season debut with them in December 2007. Between 2007 and 2010, he played 32 games for the Titans and recorded 46 tackles.

Allred departed the NFL in 2011 and enrolled in law school, receiving his Juris Doctor degree in 2014 from UC Berkeley School of Law and then moving into the role of special assistant in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Office of General Counsel during President Barack Obama's administration.

After working as a voting rights litigator for the Perkins Cole law firm, Allred launched a campaign to unseat longtime U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions, a Republican first elected in 1997. After a tight Democratic primary that included multiple Obama administration alums, Allred bested Sessions in the November 2018 general election.

"I thought that our community needed some fresh ideas and new leadership and I decided to run," Allred said. "I consider it really to be about the public; it's serving the community that I think is responsible for my success."

More: Democrat Steven Keough: Road to US Senate in Texas runs through El Paso

'Bipartisanship isn't just my opinion'

Allred's time in the U.S. House of Representatives has been marked by bipartisanship, he said, something that makes him stand out in an age of American politics marked by dogged partisanship.

"Instead of pitting Texans against each other ... I've spent my time in Congress trying to find common ground and worked in a bipartisan fashion to secure results," Allred said, noting that he's been endorsed by both the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the AFL-CIO. "In my impression, bipartisanship isn't just my opinion ... I'm kind of a rare member of Congress."

For Allred, the following bipartisan efforts are so far among his most significant achievements in the House:

• A bill to authorize construction of major Veterans Administration medical facilities, including funding for the Spinal Cord Injury Center at the Dallas VA and the creation of a new Medical Center in El Paso;

• Led a bipartisan congressional effort in coordination with former President Donald Trump's administration to establish the Garland VA Medical Center, which is now open and serving North Texas veterans and is expected to create 5,000 jobs;

• As a member of the Transportation Committee, helped lead the passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which includes $35 billion to Texas, with hundreds of millions committed for electric vehicle charging, airport improvements, mass transit, broadband and road and bridge repair.

In fact, the vast majority of the bills Allred cosponsored – 70% – were bipartisan and he voted alongside U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, to enact gun safety reform in the wake of the mass shooting in Uvalde.

Allred: Voters 'hungry to move on from Ted Cruz-style politics'

For Allred, the Cruz years have been defined by divisiveness and demagoguery, he said, adding that the tight Senate race in 2018, which saw Cruz barely beat Democratic contender Beto O'Rourke of El Paso to retain his seat, is evidence that Texans are ready for change.

"What we saw in 2018, the closeness of that election, Texans are hungry to move on from Ted Cruz-style politics," Allred said. "He is one of the most extreme senators in the country. That's just not where we are as a state."

Allred cited a number of missteps on Cruz's part, stating that the Republican fled during widespread power outages, had a hand in the Jan. 6 Capitol uprising and continually votes "in a way that is harmful to Texas." Allred also asserted that many Republicans are not seeing themselves reflected in the modern Republican Party.

That could represent a sea change, he said, noting that as a "pragmatic, pro-business" Democrat, he has seen early success at reaching some of those disenfranchised Republican voters.

But among Cruz's biggest failures, Allred said, have been his actions at the U.S.-Mexico border, where he has posted videos of himself patrolling the border, tucked away in bushes, as a pseudo-border vigilante.

"I've just been incredibly disappointed in the way Ted Cruz has used the border as a political backdrop," he said. "Where is your legislation to actually help these border communities?"

"These are real places where people are living and raising their families," he continued, "and I think they expect representation that doesn't just use them to demagogue."

And while he's confident he has the bona fides for the job and is planning an "aggressive schedule around the state" to make his pitch to voters, ultimately, he said, it will be Texans' decision.

"I'm looking forward to getting out there and introducing myself to people who might not know me," Allred said, adding that a visit to El Paso is in the works. "But it's going to be up to the people of Texas to make a choice."

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Rep. Colin Allred seeks to replace incumbent Republican Sen. Ted Cruz