Ex-Rep. Colin Allred, Texas Democrat, drops Senate campaign to run for House seat

Former Rep. Colin Allred is scrapping his Senate campaign to seek a House seat from Texas.

The Democrat will run to represent Texas’ 33rd Congressional District, ending his second Senate bid. He would need to defeat his Democratic successor, Rep. Julie Johnson, who took control of the seat in January. Mr. Allred chose to challenge GOP Sen. Ted Cruz for his seat in 2024 but lost in the general election.

Mr. Allred launched a bid for Republican Sen. John Cornyn’s seat in July, but state Rep. James Talarico, Austin Democrat, joined the race, complicating the primary.

Mr. Allred’s House announcement came on the last day for candidates to file for Texas’ 2026 primaries.

“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 [Texas Attorney General Ken] Paxton, Cornyn, or [Rep. Wesley] Hunt,” Mr. Allred posted on social media.

Texas’ congressional map was redrawn to be more GOP-friendly in the U.S. House, with President Trump rallying other Republican-led states to do the same. Republicans hope Texas’ new map can secure them as many as five additional House seats.

Mr. Allred said the “33rd district was racially gerrymandered by Trump in an effort to further rig our democracy.”

The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Texas can use its new map for the 2026 midterm elections, overturning a lower court decision that found the map to be an illegal attempt to strip minorities of voting power.

“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,” Mr. Allred posted on social media.