Colin Allred, the hometown football hero who rose from Dallas to the halls of Congress, recently clinched the Democratic nomination to represent Texas in the Senate, setting the stage for a showdown against incumbent senator Ted Cruz. You may be wondering who this challenger is, going against one of the more polarizing figures in contemporary politics, a feat famously attempted (and narrowly failed) by former congressman Beto O’Rourke six years ago.

Rep. Colin Allred wasn’t born into politics. His journey into that field was shaped by his experiences growing up in Dallas, navigating the challenges faced by a single-parent household, and finding inspiration in the community that rallied around him. He reminisces about the local YMCA where he spent all his free time and the public school teachers who went above and beyond to ensure he had every opportunity to succeed.

“I think it’s really because of that community that I have a chance to pursue my version of the American dream,” Allred tells Houstonia. “For me, that was getting a scholarship to play football at Baylor University, a school that we couldn’t have afforded for me to go had I not gotten that scholarship.”

Allred’s love of football took him to the NFL, where he was a linebacker for the Tennessee Titans from 2007 to 2010. After an injury cut his career short, Allred knew it was time to pursue his long-held goal of becoming a civil rights attorney. The former athlete took on a new challenge, this time tackling issues like voting rights and fair play, driven by the same competitive spirit that had made him a star on the football field.

“I chose to work in voting rights because I felt that there was nothing more un-American than trying to stop your fellow Texans or Americans from casting their ballot,” Allred says. “What I saw in Texas was a systematic and targeted attempt to try and make it harder for certain folks to vote, and as an athlete, that goes against everything I believe, in terms of fair play and competition. You win some, you lose some, but you don’t try to cheat.”

After law school, Allred joined the Obama administration, focusing on civil rights issues and deepening his commitment to public service. His work in Washington, DC, provided him with a broader perspective on how policy and law intersected with people’s daily lives. But it also revealed the ways political division could undermine the core values of democracy. This realization sparked his desire to make a difference in his home state, which ultimately led him back to Texas to run for Congress.

In 2018, Allred made headlines by unseating 20-year incumbent Republican Pete Sessions in Texas’s 32nd Congressional District, a feat that most political observers deemed impossible. It was the year of the “blue wave,” the first midterms after President Donald Trump was elected, which delivered countless victories for Democratic candidates across the country. Allred’s campaign strategy was simple: focus on building broad coalitions that crossed party lines without compromising on core values. He gained a reputation for being pragmatic and solution-oriented, a stark contrast to the hyper-partisan landscape that dominated national politics.

This approach carried over to his tenure in Congress, where he became one of the most bipartisan members of the entire Texas delegation, consistently finding common ground with colleagues across the aisle. He points to his work in cosponsoring bills and building alliances with members of the opposite party, focusing on issues that transcend political divisions, such as supporting veterans.

“It’s not just bipartisanship for the sake of bipartisanship,” Allred says. “It’s bipartisanship to get things done.”

Now, with his sights set on the Senate, Allred faces his most significant challenge yet: unseating Sen. Ted Cruz, a formidable opponent known for his sharp rhetoric and staunch conservatism.

Allred hopes his reputation as a bridge-builder will give him a unique advantage in a state where political division often seems irreconcilable. In his congressional campaigns, he demonstrated that winning over independents and moderate Republicans was not only possible but necessary. Connecting with voters from various backgrounds and political beliefs is equally central to his senate campaign strategy. His team is highlighting what it deems are the differences between himself and the incumbent.

“This is as big a contrast election as we’ve had in some time,” Allred says. “Public service should be about the people who you’re serving and that’s my biggest objection to Ted Cruz. I think that he’s only in this for himself.”

Allred is also emphasizing a commitment to protecting freedoms that many Texans feel are under attack, such as the right to make personal health-care decisions, including access to abortion. He speaks passionately about defending democracy and ensuring that voting rights are protected.

“I will make sure that we codify Roe v. Wade, and that we go back to the standard we’ve had for the last 50 years,” Allred says. “I will try to level the playing field through every policy mechanism I can to try and help folks who grew up like I did. The thing I want Texans to know is that I’ll put them first in every single decision.”

After a dramatic but brief “vote your conscience” stance in the 2016 election, Cruz, along with much of the Republican party, is now known for his unwavering allegiance to President Trump. The Texas senator’s combative approach to politics has made him both a conservative darling and a controversial figure among Democrats and moderates, although not everyone in his own party is a fan.

His last major contest was against O'Rourke in 2018, a high-profile race that captured the nation’s attention and broke spending records for most expensive senate race in US history at the time. Despite a spirited campaign, O’Rourke lost—as narrowly as a Democrat in a statewide race in Texas could hope for, by a mere 2.6 percent. But his ability to mobilize new voters and generate enthusiasm among young people and independents set a precedent for future Democrats challenging entrenched Republican incumbents in Texas.

While the lessons from that campaign have not been lost on Allred, who acknowledges the groundwork laid by O’Rourke and understands the importance of appealing to a broad spectrum of voters, the representative believes he has a unique set of strengths that distinguish him.

“Every election just has to build on the ones that came before it,” Allred says. “We’re going to build on Beto’s campaign in 2018 but I’m a very different candidate and it’s a very different time.”

While the 2018 race centered heavily on charisma and the ability to galvanize a progressive base, Allred says he is more focused on building coalitions and presenting a moderate image that resonates with Texas’s diverse electorate. He is taking stances on policies that appeal to those across the aisle, such as the need for a secure border and a pragmatic approach to Texas’s energy industry, where he supports embracing renewable energy while acknowledging the state’s long-standing ties to oil and gas. Allred also has a big fundraising advantage going into this election: he is outraising Cruz and has raised more money in the first quarter of 2024 ($9.5 million) than O'Rourke did in the first quarter of 2018 ($6.7 million).

Allred's style of politics is also about leading by example. He became the first known member of Congress to take paternity leave—a move that garnered attention for challenging traditional norms in politics.

“I never knew my father, so I always knew that when I became a dad, I was going to do it right,” Allred says. “To me, that starts at the beginning. There’s social science research showing that when men take leave after welcoming a child into the family, it has so many benefits for the entire family—for the baby, the spouses, and the men themselves.”

This pioneering step in Congress highlighted the need for more comprehensive family leave policies across the United States. His advocacy has brought him into a bipartisan working group focused on paid family leave.

Ultimately, the 2024 Senate race in Texas will be a test of contrasting ideologies and approaches to governance. An Allred win could change the face of politics in the state, yet he follows in the footsteps of many optimists before him who hoped to turn Texas blue, or even just a little purple. It remains to be seen if his strategy will be more successful.