Colin Allred is dropping out of the 2026 U.S. Senate race in Texas to instead run for the U.S. House, saying that staying in the Senate race would hurt the Democratic Party’s chances of winning against one of President Donald Trump’s “bootlickers.”
“In the past few days, I’ve come to believe that a bruising Senate Democratic primary and runoff would prevent the Democratic Party from going into this critical election unified against the danger posed to our communities and our Constitution by Donald Trump and one of his Republican bootlickers Paxton, Cornyn, or Hunt,” Allred said Monday in a statement. “That’s why I’ve made the difficult decision to end my campaign for the U.S. Senate.”
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Allred was planning to run against Sen. John Cornyn (R), who is up for reelection. He already ran for Texas’ other Senate seat last year, when he lost to incumbent Sen. Ted Cruz (R) by nearly 9 percentage points. Kamala Harris, then the Democratic presidential nominee, campaigned for him in Houston shortly before Election Day, and former Rep. Liz Cheney, a lifelong Republican, endorsed Allred because, she said, “You can’t trust Ted Cruz.”
On the Republican side of the 2026 Senate race, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt are challenging Cornyn for his seat.
Allred’s announcement comes just a few hours before Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D) is expected to announce her bid for the Senate on Monday night. She teased a possible bid for the seat in October.
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If Crockett does run for Cornyn’s seat, she’ll have to go up against Rep. James Talarico (D) in the primary. Talarico, a rising star in the Democratic Party, often goes viral for his takes on Christianity and politics. On Joe Rogan’s podcast, Talarico explained his opposition to displaying the Ten Commandments in schools and why he’s pro-choice, citing the story of Jesus’ mother, Mary.
As for Allred, he’s setting his sights on the new 33rd Congressional District, which he said was “racially gerrymandered by Trump in an effort to further rig our democracy.”
Allred said the area that’s part of that district is where he grew up and where he now lives with his wife and kids.
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“On January 6th I was prepared to physically fight to defend our democracy,” Allred said in a statement. “Today, the danger we face from Donald Trump is even greater and has added a level of corruption and rigging of our economy that has made it harder than ever for Texans. But I’ve never been more confident that together, we can meet this moment. I’m humbly asking to return to Congress — to keep fighting so that kids who are growing up all across the 33rd district can get the same chances as I did.”