As Texas Democrats gather in El Paso for their state convention, their top priority is to shore up U.S. Rep. Colin Allred’s position ahead of his matchup against Sen. Ted Cruz in the November election.
An Allred victory would be a major shift for Texas and the nation, as Democrats haven’t won a statewide election since 1994.
“We’ve got to get behind our Senate nominee, Colin Allred, to work collectively to make sure we get a statewide win,” Dallas County Democratic Party Chairman Kardal Coleman said “It’s going to take all hands on deck. It’s going to take all of our allied organizations and everyone involved to turn out every vote.”
More national Democrats also see the race as one of their top priorities. According to the Texas Tribune, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has identified Texas as one of its top two pickup opportunities this year, along with Florida.
Since Beto O’Rourke’s 2018 Senate run, in which he nearly ousted Cruz, Democrats have raised their hopes of winning a statewide election.
But Cruz still leads in the polls against Allred. A May poll by the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin found that 46% of likely voters supported Cruz, while 33% supported Allred.
Allred has focused his campaign on showing he can work with both Democrats and Republicans in Congress as the GOP has moved further to the right.
“This November Texans will have a clear choice between Ted Cruz’s extremism and Congressman Colin Allred’s record of bringing people together as the most bipartisan member of the Texas Delegation in Congress,” Paige Hutchinson, Allred’s campaign manager said. “Congressman Allred is excited to join Texans from across the state who are energized to send Ted Cruz packing for good.”
According to the Dallas Morning-News, Democrats aim to focus on essential issues like education, transportation, health care, and the economy, rather than engaging in culture wars. State Sen. Nathan Johnson, D-Dallas, believes this approach will help win public confidence. Additionally, Democrats are targeting rural voters by opposing school vouchers, which they argue threaten public education.
While Democrats have not secured a statewide victory in recent years, they have made significant gains in urban areas. In Dallas County, for example, Democrats now control every seat on the county Commissioners Court. Similar progress has been seen in Harris and Bexar counties, and even in traditionally Republican Tarrant County, where Beto O’Rourke and Joe Biden achieved notable successes.
