Former Texas Rep. Colin Allred could be swapping one potentially messy Democratic primary for another. The former congressman announced Monday that he was dropping his bid for Senate and will instead run for Texas’ 33rd District, which was redrawn by state Republicans as one of two Democratic-leaning seats in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. That would likely set up a primary clash with his successor in the House, Democrat Julie Elizabeth Johnson. Allred’s announcement represents the latest fallout from the Texas legislature’s mid-decade redrawing of the state’s congressional lines at the urging of President Donald Trump to help Republicans defend their majority and pick up seats in next year’s midterm elections. Under the map, which received a green light from the Supreme Court last week, five Democrat-held seats were redrawn to favor the GOP, including Johnson’s current district, the 32nd. Allred was previously locked in a competitive Senate primary with state Rep. James Talarico. And the field could grow Monday evening, with Rep. Jasmine Crockett scheduled to make a “special announcement” on her plans ahead of the state’s filing deadline before 12:01 a.m. Tuesday. Talarico and Crockett are seen as rising Democratic stars who have built national profiles – Crockett for her viral takedowns of President Donald Trump; and Talarico, for blending progressive politics with his Christian faith. Talarico reported raising $6.3 million in the first three weeks after announcing his campaign in September, while Allred raised $4.9 million during the third quarter. Republicans are also embroiled in an acrimonious and expensive battle for the Senate seat, with incumbent John Cornyn being challenged by state Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt. “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 in a statement. “That’s why I’ve made the difficult decision to end my campaign for the U.S. Senate.” Instead, Allred is seeking to return to the House from the 33rd District, which includes territory he previously represented in Congress. Johnson announced Friday that she would run for the same seat, saying in a statement that “communities need someone who shows up, listens, and never stops fighting for them — no matter how the lines are drawn.” Democrat Marc Veasey represents the current version of the 33rd District, but his Fort Worth base was drawn out of the seat under the new map. According to The Texas Tribune, Veasey plans to run for Crockett’s 30th District, if she vacates it for a Senate run. Allred was first elected to Congress in the 2018 blue wave, unseating longtime Republican incumbent Pete Sessions in what was then a battleground district in the Dallas suburbs. Redistricting following the 2020 census made the seat considerably more Democratic. Allred vacated the seat in 2024 for an ultimately unsuccessful Senate run against Republican Ted Cruz and was replaced in the House by Johnson. Other races affected by the new Texas map include contests for Democrat-held seats in Austin and Houston. On Friday, Rep. Lloyd Doggett, the longest-serving member of the Texas delegation, announced his retirement, avoiding a potentially divisive primary against progressive Rep. Greg Casar in a redrawn Austin-area district. In Houston, Democratic Rep. Al Green is running for the redrawn 18th District – setting up another primary clash, this time with a future House colleague: Democrats Christian Menefee and Amanda Edwards, who are vying to succeed the late Rep. Sylvester Turner in a Jan. 31 special election runoff for the currently vacant seat, have both said they will file to run for the regular 18th District primary, scheduled for March 3.
