Early polls give the former Dallas congressman hope, but how would a new campaign be different from his one last year against Ted Cruz?
DALLAS — Former Congressman Colin Allred, D-Dallas, said he is close to formally announcing a decision on whether to run for U.S. Senate again.
“I’ll make a decision soon,” Allred told Inside Texas Politics. “I’m seriously considering it.”
Allred said he would make an announcement this summer.
“I spent the last six months or so with my family, my kids – reconnecting with my kids in a lot of ways – and watching what’s happening,” he said. “I see the division that is literally threatening to tear us apart. When I talk to folks, they’re looking for somebody who can bring us together, but also talk to what their issues actually are. I think there’s a hunger for that, and that’s what I want to speak to.”
The Dallas Democrat gave up his congressional seat last year in an unsuccessful campaign against Republican incumbent Sen. Ted Cruz.
Allred is now considering running for the Democratic nomination next March for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Republican Sen. John Cornyn.
Cornyn is running for re-election. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is challenging him on the right.
In 2024, Allred lost his bid to replace Ted Cruz by nine points. So, how would a 2026 campaign be different than the last for Allred?
“I feel more relaxed. And I think part of that also is spending time with my kids, spending time with my friends, talking to normal folks, getting back to the feeling of why I went into public service in the first place, which was not to deliver scripted lines and to do whatever was politically expedient,” he explained to WFAA. “We have an affordability crisis in this state. Folks can’t buy a house. They can’t put food on the table. We need leaders who will speak to that.”
Early polls are favorable to Allred.
A survey last month from the Barbara Jordan Public Policy Research and Survey Center at Texas Southern University showed Allred two points behind Ken Paxton in a hypothetical matchup.
Allred also has the highest favorability among all U.S. Senate candidates, that poll showed.
“Ken Paxton has shown himself to be historically corrupt. I think John Cornyn has completely lost touch. I think both of them are really only trying to pursue the support and interests of basically one person. And what they really should be doing is talking about 30 million Texans and what’s going on with Texans who can’t afford their groceries, what’s going on with working Texans who want someone who fight for them so they can get ahead.”
Former Congressman Beto O’Rourke from El Paso is also positioning himself for a potential run for the Democratic nomination.
In 2018, O’Rourke famously finished within two points of Cruz.
O’Rourke is on a statewide tour right now, and told WFAA recently that he has not ruled out a potential campaign for U.S. Senate.
In fact, O’Rourke is holding rallies in Amarillo and Fort Worth on June 22 with Bernie Sanders.
Allred said a campaign by O’Rourke would not influence his own decision.
“I’ve always looked at running for office as to whether or not I have something to bring and whether or not I’m the best person you know, to run in that race. And I’ve never determined it based on who else was going to be running in a primary,” Allred said. “I never fear any of that.”
The 2026 Democratic Primary is set for Tuesday, March 3.