Colin_Allred

Colin Allred

Colin Allred

American politician (born 1983)

Colin Zachary Allred (born April 15, 1983) is an American politician, lawyer, and former professional football player. A member of the Democratic Party, he is the U.S. representative from Texas's 32nd congressional district. The district includes the northeastern corner of Dallas, as well as many of its northeastern suburbs, such as Garland, Richardson, Sachse, Wylie, the Park Cities, and Rowlett.

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Allred was a linebacker who played for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). He left football to pursue a degree in law, receiving his J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, followed by positions in the Obama administration,[1] first at the Department of Housing and Urban Development and later at the Executive Office for United States Attorneys.[2] On May 3, 2023, Allred announced his candidacy in the 2024 United States Senate election in Texas to take on Ted Cruz.[3] He won the Democratic nomination on March 5, 2024, and will face Cruz in the November general election.

Early life and education

Allred was born in Dallas, Texas. Allred attended Hillcrest High School in Dallas, where he played baseball, basketball and football. He accepted a scholarship to play college football at Baylor University.[4] He played for the Baylor Bears as a linebacker.[5] In December 2005, Allred graduated from Baylor with a B.A. in history.[6][7] As a senior, he was All-Big 12 honorable mention.[8]

Professional career

Football

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Allred (#56) on a defensive play during Tennessee Titans training camp in 2008

Allred was signed by the Tennessee Titans as an undrafted free agent following the 2006 NFL Draft on May 4, 2006. He was waived on August 29 but re-signed on January 26, 2007. Allred was waived again on September 1 during final cuts and signed to the practice squad on September 2. He was promoted to the active roster on December 15 and made his NFL regular season debut on December 16, 2007.[10]

In four seasons for the Titans between 2007 and 2010, Allred appeared in 32 games and recorded 46 tackles.[11]

He became a free agent before the 2011 season, but did not sign with another team.[12]

Law

After his football career, Allred enrolled in law school. After receiving his J.D. degree from the UC Berkeley School of Law in 2014,[7] he worked as a special assistant in the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Office of General Counsel alongside then-Secretary Julian Castro in the Obama administration.[13]

Subsequently, Allred worked as an attorney at the Perkins Coie law firm, where he was a voting rights litigator and counsel to clients including national and state political candidates and advocacy organizations.[13][14]

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2018

See also: 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Texas § District 32

On April 21, 2017, Allred announced his campaign to challenge incumbent Republican Pete Sessions in 2018.[15] In a crowded Democratic primary that included two other Obama administration alums, Allred finished first, by 20 points, but did not get 50% of the vote.[16] In the May 22 runoff election, Allred defeated Lewisville businesswoman Lillian Salerno, receiving 69.5% of the vote.[17]

Allred faced Sessions in the general election. As of November 2016, this was considered a swing district because Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton received marginally more votes than Donald Trump even as Sessions was reelected with no major-party opposition.[18] Allred described himself as a moderate Democrat.[19]

On November 6, 2018, Allred was elected to the House of Representatives for the 32nd district of Texas.[20] His victory was considered an upset because Sessions had been in Congress since 1997 and represented the 32nd district since its creation in 2003.[21] Allred became the second person to represent this district and the first Democrat. Sessions had represented the neighboring 5th district, and transferred to the 32nd after the 5th was seemingly made less Republican in redistricting. As a measure of how Republican this area had been, much of what is now the 32nd had not been represented by a Democrat since 1968, when it was part of the neighboring 3rd district. Allred was one of two former NFL players to win a seat in Congress that year, along with Anthony Gonzalez.

Tenure

In November 2018, Allred was elected co-president of the Democratic freshmen of the 116th Congress, alongside fellow Obama administration alumna Haley Stevens.[22]

In February 2019, Allred endorsed his former boss and fellow Texan, former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro, in the 2020 Democratic presidential primaries.[23] After Castro withdrew from the race, Allred endorsed Joe Biden.[24]

On December 18, 2019, Allred voted for both articles of impeachment against President Donald J. Trump.[25] He also voted to impeach Trump in January 2021 during his second impeachment.[26]

In 2021, Allred sought over $241 million in earmarks for his district, largely for projects at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport.[27]

As of 2022, Allred has voted with President Joe Biden 100% of the time.[28]

Committee assignments

Caucus memberships

2024 U.S. Senate campaign

Main article: 2024 United States Senate election in Texas

On May 3, 2023, Allred announced his candidacy for the United States Senate in 2024, challenging Republican incumbent Ted Cruz.[30] On March 5, 2024, Allred won the primary nomination for the Democratic Party.[31]

Political positions

In a survey of House floor votes taken during the 117th United States Congress (2021–22), Allred's votes consistently aligned with the positions of the Biden Administration.[32]

Abortion rights

Allred opposes the state abortion ban in Texas, and supports the restoration of Roe v. Wade through codification.[33]

COVID-19

Allred has consistently emphasized the importance of vaccination against COVID-19[34] and has criticized others for spreading misinformation about the vaccine.[35] In January 2021, he stated that, while supportive of the economic stimulus proposed at the time, vaccination was the most important step people could take, noting that "[n]o amount of aid of any kind is going to allow us to outspend this virus."[34] He has also opposed overriding the Medicare and Medicaid rules around requiring health care workers to be vaccinated.[36][37]

Foreign policy

Israel

Allred voted to provide Israel with support following 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.[38][39]

Syria

In 2023, Allred voted against H.Con.Res. 21 which directed President Joe Biden to remove U.S. troops from Syria within 180 days.[40][41]

Gun laws

In the wake of the 2023 Cleveland, Texas shooting, Allred stated that he supports "common-sense actions like universal background checks and red-flag laws to ensure dangerous individuals don’t have these deadly weapons."[42] In 2022, after the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, Allred voted for the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act; this law incentivized states to pass red-flag laws and significantly narrowed the so-called boyfriend loophole, which had allowed abusive partners to obtain guns so long as they were not married to the survivor of the abuse. He has also supported a federal assault weapons ban.[43][44]

Immigration

Allred has stated that he wishes to take a "pragmatic approach to reforming our broken immigration system," emphasizing the need to "secure our border and our ports of entry" using recent technologies.[45] In 2019, he opposed deploying troops along the southern border.[46] In January 2024, Allred was one of only 14 Democrats who voted for a resolution to "denounce the Biden administration's open-borders policies".[47][48]

Personal life

Allred married Alexandra Eber on March 25, 2017.[49] They have two sons, born in 2019 and 2021.[50] He is related to former Texas Governor James V. Allred.[51]

Electoral history

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See also

References

  1. [1]
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  2. [2]
    Jeffers, Gromer Jr. (October 21, 2018). "Colin Allred is a son of his Dallas district. Can he unseat the man who's represented it for decades?". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
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    "2015 Perkins Coie Diversity Year In Review". Perkins Coie. January 29, 2017.
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    Jeffers Jr., Gromer (May 22, 2018). "Colin Allred beats Lillian Salerno for chance to unseat incumbent Republican Pete Sessions | 2018 Elections". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
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  33. [33]
    Allred, Colin (December 17, 2023). "Our state's cruel abortion ban is deeply anti-freedom and deeply un-Texan". Twitter. Retrieved March 22, 2024. Our state's cruel abortion ban is deeply anti-freedom and deeply un-Texan. And it's folks like Ted Cruz pushing these cruel laws. When I'm in the Senate, I'll work to codify Roe and go back to the standard we had for the last 50 years.
  34. [34]
    McCardel, Michael (January 17, 2021) [January 16, 2021]. "Inside Texas Politics: Rep. Allred says vaccination, not spending, will get U.S. out of pandemic". WFAA. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  35. [35]
    Caldwell, Emily (January 10, 2023). "Colin Allred calls now-deleted tweet from Ted Cruz 'a new low' after Damar Hamlin collapse". The Dallas Morning News. Archived from the original on January 29, 2023. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
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    "House Votes Down Bill Directing Removal of Troops From Syria". US News & World Report. March 8, 2023. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
  42. [42]
    "Allred Statement in Response to Mass Shooting in San Jacinto County" (Press release). Dallas: Office of U.S. Representative Colin Allred. April 29, 2023. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  43. [43]
    McKend, Daniella Diaz, Annie Grayer, Eva (July 29, 2022). "House passes assault-style weapons ban | CNN Politics". CNN.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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  47. [47]
    Washington, U. S. Capitol Room H154; p:225-7000, DC 20515-6601 (January 17, 2024). "Roll Call 13 Roll Call 13, Bill Number: H. Res. 957, 118th Congress, 2nd Session". Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives. Retrieved March 22, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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    Choi, Matthew (January 18, 2024). "U.S. Rep. Colin Allred joins Republicans to condemn Biden's handling of border". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved March 22, 2024.
  49. [49]
    "Colin Allred & Alexandra Eber Engagement Announcement". The Dallas Morning News. April 30, 2017. Archived from the original on August 28, 2017. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  50. [50]
    Dunaway-Seale, Jaime. "US Rep. Colin Allred welcomes newest member of the family". Archived from the original on April 14, 2021. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
  51. [51]
    @ColinAllredTX (April 12, 2024). "When I toured President Lyndon B. Johnson's boyhood home with his daughter Luci, it wasn't the first time an Allred and a Johnson got together to talk about the future of our state. Here is my relative, former Governor of Texas James V. Allred with LBJ and President Franklin Roosevelt" (Tweet). Retrieved April 12, 2024 – via Twitter.
  52. [52]
    "2018 Primary Election Official Results". Texas Secretary of State. Archived from the original on March 7, 2018. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
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    "Texas Election Results". Texas Secretary of State. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
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