Colin Allred, the Democratic hopeful seeking to defeat Ted Cruz in Texas

Democrats are not losing hope. With each presidential election, the party believes that it will be able to gain more ground in Texas, a Republican stronghold. In this year’s election, all hope rests on Colin Allred, a congressman from Dallas and former NFL player. He seeks to dethrone Ted Cruz, perhaps one of the most controversial Republicans in the Senate, who has not lost an election since 2012. Democratic senators in Washington believe that Allred, 41, has a real chance of victory. On Thursday, Democrats announced a “multimillion-dollar” initiative to help defeat Cruz. Democrats have not won a Senate race in Texas since 1988.

“Senate Democrats are expanding the map and going on offense,” said Sen. Gary Peters, who heads the Senatorial Campaign Committee, in a statement. Peters added that the party is pouring $79 million into the race, with the money to go towards advertising and hiring volunteers to help canvass the giant state. Democrats are also hoping that Debbie Murcasell-Powell will defeat billionaire Rick Scott in Florida, another safe Republican state. Polls released this week show Cruz leading Allred in Texas by just three points.

The first of Allred’s campaign ads was released on Thursday. It’s a nod to Allred’s NFL past. In the video, the candidate — who has been a member of Congress since 2019 — is seen sitting in a locker room preparing to take the field. He holds a jersey with the colors of the Houston Oilers, the iconic NFL team that became the Tennessee Titans in 1997. Allred played four seasons as a defensive back for this team until an injury ended his career. “Teamwork, accountability, sacrifice. Those words guided me on the football field and now in public service. Ted Cruz probably couldn’t find them in the dictionary,” he says in the spot.

The battle for Texas promises to be the most expensive Senate race of this election. Open Secrets, the nonpartisan organization that tracks campaign contributions, has it in first place, with $97 million raised between Allred and Cruz. The 53-year-old Republican senator has acknowledged that it is a very close race. In July, on the final day of the Republican National Convention, Cruz told fellow Republicans behind closed doors that he needed their support in view of the large amount of money Democrats were spending on the campaign. He estimated that Democrats were spending between $100 million and $150 million to unseat him.

Cruz may seem cornered by Allred’s campaign, but the ultra-conservative politician is a hardy rival. In 2018, he also faced tough competition: Beto O’Rourke, the Democratic representative for El Paso. Thar race was one of the closest in Texas’ recent history. Cruz — the former solicitor general of Texas, well-connected with the gun lobby and the state’s most traditional sectors — won with 50.9% of the votes against 48.3% for his Democratic rival. Thanks to just 220,000 votes, Cruz remained in Washington alongside John Cornyn, the second Republican senator for Texas.

Unlike O’Rourke — a politician aligned to the left —, Allred has run a centrist campaign in which he promises to listen to all sides of the political spectrum. This approach was attacked in the Democratic primary. His party rivals, especially local senator Roland Gutierrez, reproached Allred for reaching out to Republicans in Congress.

In January, the former NFL player was one of three Democrats who voted to condemn the Joe Biden administration’s handling of the border. The other two were Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzalez, representatives of districts on the border with Mexico. Cruz — who had already identified Allred as his rival — called it a “cowardly flip-flopping strategy,” given that the Democrat had consistently supported Democrat measures benefitting undocumented migrants. On Thursday, Republican spokesman, Philip Letsou, said Allred “is an extremist who believes it’s racist to secure the border.”

Raised by a single mother in Dallas, Allred studied law at college. After his unsuccessful career in professional American football, he decided to take on cases defending voter rights. He worked alongside fellow Texas politician Julián Castro at the Department of Housing during Barack Obama’s presidency. His big political moment came in 2018, when he defeated Republican Pete Sessions, who had been a member of Congress for 22 years. Since then, he has been reelected twice.

Cruz will face his Democratic rival on October 15 in the first debate of the race. Although the race seems close, the incumbent senator has a big advantage in his favor. Donald Trump is on the ballot, which ensures him a solid turnout of Republicans in Texas, who can propel him to his third victory. If he loses, the Democrats will have to dust off the history books. The last Texas Democrat in the Senate was Bob Krueger, who was appointed by former governor, Ann Richards, to fill a seat in the Upper House. The last candidate to win an election was Lloyd Bentsen in 1988. That year, Allred was just turning five.

Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAÍS USA Edition