Hold onto your hats, folks—Colin Allred just pulled a political U-turn that’s got Texas Democrats scrambling and Republicans smirking.
According to The Texas Tribune, the former Dallas congressman and 2024 Senate hopeful has dropped his bid for Texas’ 2026 U.S. Senate Democratic primary and instead thrown his hat into the ring for the newly drawn 33rd Congressional District in Dallas.
Allred’s journey to this pivot started with a tough loss to Sen. Ted Cruz in 2024, falling short by 8.5 percentage points. Despite that setback, he jumped into the 2026 Senate race earlier this year with strong name recognition and poll numbers that put him ahead of potential GOP rival Attorney General Ken Paxton. But the Democratic field got crowded fast, with state Rep. James Talarico entering in September and U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett expected to join the fray soon after.
The Senate race drama thickened over the summer as Allred, Talarico, former Rep. Beto O’Rourke, and Rep. Joaquin Castro tried—and failed—to coordinate a unified slate for statewide offices. An October poll showed Allred trailing behind Crockett, Talarico, and O’Rourke in a hypothetical Democratic primary, a sign his path to the nomination was anything but smooth. With nationally known figures like Crockett, famous for her sharp rebuttals, and Talarico, blending faith with populism, the race was shaping up to be a progressive slugfest.
Allred’s decision to bow out came on the final day for candidates to file for the 2026 primaries, a move that likely spares Democrats a messy runoff in May. He’s now banking on a return to Congress, targeting the 33rd District, which includes about a third of the residents from the seat he flipped from Republicans back in 2018. It’s a calculated retreat, but one that raises eyebrows given the stakes of the Senate race against a GOP lineup of Sen. John Cornyn, Paxton, or 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. That’s a noble sentiment, but let’s be real—pulling out to avoid a fight might just signal he’s dodging a losing battle while the left eats its own over ideological purity.
The 33rd District, freshly carved out by a GOP-friendly map upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, merges parts of three existing Democratic seats in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Allred, who lives in the district, sees it as a homecoming, having represented many of these folks during his six years in Congress. But conservatives might chuckle at the irony of Democrats squabbling over a district drawn to dilute their power.
“The 33rd district was racially gerrymandered by Trump in an effort to further rig our democracy, but it’s also the community where I grew up attending public schools and watching my mom struggle to pay for our groceries,” Allred noted. Call it gerrymandering or just smart politics, but the reality is that maps are drawn to win elections, not to win hearts—and Allred’s sob story won’t change the lines on the ground. Allred isn’t waltzing into an easy win here, either. He’s up against Rep. Julie Johnson in the primary, his successor in the now-dismantled 32nd District, who’s been in office since early 2025. Johnson, backed by endorsements like state Rep. James Talarico for Senate, isn’t likely to roll over quietly for a returning politician.
Johnson’s camp is already firing warning shots, questioning Allred’s commitment to the district. She’s positioned herself as the steady hand who’s been there through redistricting battles, not a candidate “parachuting” back after a failed Senate bid. It’s a fair jab—voters might wonder if Allred’s just shopping for the safest seat.
Adding fuel to the fire, Equality PAC, which supports LGBTQ+ candidates, has thrown its weight behind Johnson, the first openly LGBTQ member of Congress from Texas. Their concern about unseating a historic figure carries weight, especially in a party obsessed with identity milestones over substantive policy wins. But let’s not pretend this is anything other than strategic posturing in a primary fight.
The current 33rd District representative, Marc Veasey, is eyeing a move to the 30th District if Crockett jumps to the Senate race, creating a game of musical chairs among Dallas Democrats. Meanwhile, former state Rep. Domingo Garcia considered a run for the 33rd but backed out on the filing deadline. It’s a messy reshuffle, and conservatives might just sit back with popcorn as the left sorts out its pecking order.
Allred’s exit from the Senate race could streamline the Democratic primary, potentially settling the nominee in March rather than dragging into a May runoff. That’s a small mercy for a party that often seems more focused on internal virtue signaling than uniting against Republican heavyweights. Still, credit where it’s due—Allred’s stepping aside shows at least a flicker of pragmatism.
For now, the 33rd District race will test whether Allred’s past achievements, like securing federal funds for housing and healthcare, can outweigh Johnson’s current tenure and historic status. Republicans, meanwhile, are likely grinning at the thought of a divided Democratic base in a district crafted to favor GOP interests. It’s a reminder that while the left debates representation, the right plays chess with redistricting.
Texas politics remains a battleground, and Allred’s latest move is just another chapter in a saga of shifting alliances and calculated risks. Whether he can reclaim a congressional seat or get bogged down in primary mudslinging is anyone’s guess. One thing’s clear: in a state where conservative values often hold sway, Democrats’ infighting might be the best gift the GOP could ask for.