Colin Allred

Colin Zachary Allred (born April 15, 1983) is an American politician, lawyer, and former professional football player. A member of the Democratic Party, he is the U.S. representative from Texas's 32nd congressional district. The district includes the northeastern corner of Dallas, as well as many of its northeastern suburbs, such as Garland, Richardson, Sachse, Wylie, the Park Cities, and Rowlett.

Colin Allred
Allred in 2022
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Texas's 32nd district
Assumed office
January 3, 2019
Preceded byPete Sessions
Personal details
Born
Colin Zachary Allred

(1983-04-15) April 15, 1983
Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Alexandra Eber
​
(m. 2017)​
Children2
EducationBaylor University (BA)
University of California, Berkeley (JD)
WebsiteHouse website
Football career
No. 56
Position:Linebacker
Personal information
Height:6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:242 lb (110 kg)
Career information
High school:Hillcrest (Dallas, Texas)
College:Baylor
Undrafted:2006
Career history
Career NFL statistics
Total tackles:41
Player stats at NFL.com

Allred was a linebacker who played for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). He left football to pursue a degree in law, receiving his J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, followed by positions in the Obama administration,[1] first at the Department of Housing and Urban Development and later at the Executive Office for United States Attorneys.[2] On May 3, 2023, Allred announced his candidacy in the 2024 United States Senate election in Texas.[3]

Early life and education

Allred was born in Dallas, Texas. His father is black and his mother is white.[2] Allred attended Hillcrest High School in Dallas, where he played baseball, basketball and football. He accepted a scholarship to play college football at Baylor University.[4] He played for the Baylor Bears as a linebacker. In December 2005, Allred graduated from Baylor with a B.A. in history.[5][6] As a senior, he was All-Big 12 honorable mention.[7]

Allred (#56) on a defensive play during Tennessee Titans training camp in 2008

NFL career
Pre-draft measurables
HeightWeight40-yard dash20-yard shuttleThree-cone drillVertical jumpBroad jumpBench press
6 ft 1+1⁄8 in
(1.86 m)		 237 lb
(108 kg)		 4.85 s4.37 s7.33 s34.0 in
(0.86 m)		9 ft 7 in
(2.92 m)		17 reps
All values from Pro Day[8]

Allred was signed by the Tennessee Titans as an undrafted free agent following the 2006 NFL Draft on May 4, 2006. He was waived on August 29 but re-signed on January 26, 2007. Allred was waived again on September 1 during final cuts and signed to the practice squad on September 2. He was promoted to the active roster on December 15 and made his NFL regular season debut on December 16, 2007.[9]

In four seasons for the Titans between 2007 and 2010, Allred appeared in 32 games and recorded 46 tackles.[10]

He became a free agent before the 2011 season, but did not sign with another team.[11]

Law career

After his football career, Allred enrolled in law school. After receiving his J.D. degree from the UC Berkeley School of Law in 2014,[6] he worked as a special assistant in the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Office of General Counsel alongside then-Secretary Julian Castro in the Obama administration.[12]

Subsequently, Allred worked as an attorney at the Perkins Coie law firm, where he was a voting rights litigator and counsel to clients including national and state political candidates and advocacy organizations.[12][13]

U.S. House of Representatives

2018
See also: 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Texas § District 32

On April 21, 2017, Allred announced his campaign to challenge incumbent Republican Pete Sessions in 2018.[14] In a crowded Democratic primary that included two other Obama administration alums, Allred finished first, by 20 points, but did not get 50% of the vote.[15] In the May 22 runoff election, Allred defeated Lewisville businesswoman Lillian Salerno, receiving 69.5% of the vote.[16]

Allred faced Sessions in the general election. As of November 2016, this was considered a swing district because Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton received marginally more votes than Donald Trump even as Sessions was reelected with no major-party opposition.[17] Allred described himself as a moderate Democrat.[18]

On November 6, 2018, Allred was elected to the House of Representatives for the 32nd district of Texas.[19] His victory was considered an upset because Sessions had been in Congress since 1997 and represented the 32nd district since its creation in 2003.[20] Allred became the second person to represent this district and the first Democrat. Sessions had represented the neighboring 5th district, and transferred to the 32nd after the 5th was seemingly made less Republican in redistricting. As a measure of how Republican this area had been, much of what is now the 32nd had not been represented by a Democrat since 1968, when it was part of the neighboring 3rd district. Allred was one of two former NFL players to win a seat in Congress that year, along with Anthony Gonzalez.

Tenure

In November 2018, Allred was elected co-president of the Democratic freshmen of the 116th Congress, alongside fellow Obama administration alumna Haley Stevens.[21]

In February 2019, Allred endorsed his former boss and fellow Texan, former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro, in the 2020 Democratic presidential primaries.[22] After Castro withdrew from the race, Allred endorsed Joe Biden.[23]

On December 18, 2019, Allred voted for both articles of impeachment against President Donald J. Trump.[24] He also voted to impeach Trump in January 2021 during his second impeachment.[25]

In 2021, Allred sought over $241 million in earmarks for his district, largely for projects at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport.[26]

Committee assignments

Caucus memberships

Political positions

In a survey of House floor votes taken during the 117th United States Congress (2021-22), Allred's votes consistently aligned with the positions of the Biden Administration.[28]

Gun laws

In the wake of the 2023 Cleveland, Texas shooting, Allred stated that he supports "common-sense actions like universal background checks and red-flag laws to ensure dangerous individuals don’t have these deadly weapons."[29] In 2022, after the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, Allred voted for the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act; this law incentivized states to pass red-flag laws and significantly narrowed the so-called boyfriend loophole, which had allowed abusive partners to obtain guns so long as they were not married to the survivor of the abuse. He has also supported a federal assault weapons ban.[30][31]

COVID-19

Allred has consistently emphasized the importance of vaccination against COVID-19[32] and has criticized others for spreading misinformation about the vaccine.[33] In January 2021, he stated that, while supportive of the economic stimulus proposed at the time, vaccination was the most important step people could take, noting that "[n]o amount of aid of any kind is going to allow us to outspend this virus."[32] He has also opposed overriding the Medicare and Medicaid rules around requiring health care workers to be vaccinated.[34][35]

Immigration

Allred has stated that he wishes to take a "pragmatic approach to reforming our broken immigration system," emphasizing the need to "secure our border and our ports of entry" using recent technologies.[36] In 2019, he opposed deploying troops along the southern border.[37]

2024 United States Senate election

On May 3, 2023, Allred announced his candidacy for the United States Senate in 2024, challenging Republican incumbent Ted Cruz.[38]

Electoral history
Democratic primary results, 2018[39]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Colin Allred 15,442 38.5
Democratic Lillian Salerno 7,343 18.3
Democratic Brett Shipp 6,550 16.4
Democratic Ed Meier 5,474 13.7
Democratic George Rodriguez 3,029 7.5
Democratic Ron Marshall 1,301 3.2
Democratic Todd Maternowski 945 2.4
Total votes 40,084 100.0
Democratic primary runoff results, 2018
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Colin Allred 15,658 69.5
Democratic Lillian Salerno 6,874 30.5
Total votes 22,532 100
Texas's 32nd congressional district, 2018[40]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Colin Allred 144,067 52.3
Republican Pete Sessions (incumbent) 126,101 45.7
Libertarian Melina Baker 5,452 2.0
Total votes 275,620 100.0
Democratic gain from Republican
Texas's 32nd congressional district, 2020[41]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Colin Allred (incumbent) 178,542 52.0
Republican Genevieve Collins 157,867 45.9
Libertarian Christy Mowrey Peterson 4,946 1.4
Independent Jason Sigmon 2,332 0.7
Total votes 343,687 100.0
Democratic hold
Texas's 32nd congressional district, 2022
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Colin Allred (incumbent) 116,005 65.3
Republican Antonio Swad 61,494 34.6
Total votes 177,499 100.0
Democratic hold

Personal life

Allred married Alexandra Eber on March 25, 2017.[42] They have two sons, born in 2019 and 2021.[43]

See also

References
  1. "Full list of White House summer interns for 2013". The Washington Post. July 12, 2013. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  2. Jeffers, Gromer Jr. (October 21, 2018). "Colin Allred is a son of his Dallas district. Can he unseat the man who's represented it for decades?". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  3. "Rep. Colin Allred launches Senate bid to oust Ted Cruz". Dallas News. May 3, 2023. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  4. Gonzales, Nathan L. (June 21, 2019). "For Colin Allred, Major League dreams are close to coming true". Roll Call. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  5. "Colin Allred". Tennessee Titans. Archived from the original on January 6, 2011. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
  6. "Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress - Retro Member details". bioguideretro.congress.gov.
  7. "2005 SBC All-Big 12 Conference Football Awards Announced". Big 12. November 29, 2005. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  8. "Colin Allred, Baylor, OLB, 2006 NFL Draft Scout, NCAA College Football". draftscout.com. Retrieved January 6, 2022.
  9. "Colin Allred career game logs". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  10. "Colin Allred". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  11. Coin Allred Transactions and injuries, Sports Forecaster, July 25, 2011. Retrieved May 3, 2023.
  12. Chung, Renwei (February 9, 2018). "Berkeley Law Alum And Former NFL Player Colin Allred On Following Obama, The American Dream, And His Path Back To Dallas". Above the Law.
  13. "2015 Perkins Coie Diversity Year In Review". Perkins Coie. January 29, 2017.
  14. Jeffers Jr., Gromer (April 19, 2017). "Former NFL player Colin Allred launches campaign to unseat Pete Sessions". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  15. Jeffers Jr., Gromer (May 22, 2018). "Colin Allred beats Lillian Salerno for chance to unseat incumbent Republican Pete Sessions | 2018 Elections". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
  16. "Texas Primary Runoff Election Results". The New York Times. May 29, 2018. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
  17. Livingston, Abby (May 22, 2018). "Texas congressional Democratic runoff results: Lizzie Pannill Fletcher and Gina Ortiz Jones win". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
  18. Caygle, Heather (November 24, 2018). "It's not just Ocasio-Cortez: Here are 7 freshman Democrats to watch". Politico. Retrieved December 9, 2018.
  19. Schwartz, Brian (November 6, 2018). "Democrat and ex-NFL player Colin Allred projected to beat longtime GOP Rep. Pete Sessions in Texas". CNBC. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
  20. Evans, Molly (November 7, 2018). "Texas Midterm Election Results: Abbott, Cruz Win Re-Election; Allred Beats Sessions". KERA-TV. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  21. Gillman, Todd J. (November 28, 2018). "Colin Allred elected freshman class co-president by new Democrats in Congress". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
  22. Montellaro, Zach (February 20, 2019). "Sanders sprints out of the gate in his presidential bid". Politico. Retrieved February 22, 2019.
  23. Klar, Rebecca (January 13, 2020). "Tenth Congressional Black Caucus member backs Biden". The Hill. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  24. Panetta, Grace. "WHIP COUNT: Here's which members of the House voted for and against impeaching Trump". Business Insider.
  25. "Here's how the House voted on Trump's second impeachment". Politico.com.
  26. Shutt, Jennifer (May 26, 2021). "Vulnerable Democrats bet earmark stigma has worn off". Roll Call. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  27. "Leadership | New Democrat Coalition". newdemocratcoalition.house.gov. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
  28. Bycoffe, Anna Wiederkehr and Aaron (January 3, 2023). "Does Your Member Of Congress Vote With Or Against Biden?". FiveThirtyEight. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
  29. "Allred Statement in Response to Mass Shooting in San Jacinto County" (Press release). Dallas: Office of U.S. Representative Colin Allred. April 29, 2023. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  30. McKend, Daniella Diaz, Annie Grayer, Eva (July 29, 2022). "House passes assault-style weapons ban | CNN Politics". CNN.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  31. "H.R.698 - Assault Weapons Ban of 2023". Congress.gov. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  32. McCardel, Michael (January 17, 2021) [January 16, 2021]. "Inside Texas Politics: Rep. Allred says vaccination, not spending, will get U.S. out of pandemic". WFAA. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  33. Caldwell, Emily (January 10, 2023). "Colin Allred calls now-deleted tweet from Ted Cruz 'a new low' after Damar Hamlin collapse". The Dallas Morning News. Archived from the original on January 29, 2023. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  34. "Seven Democrats join Republicans in vote to lift vaccine mandate for healthcare workers". January 31, 2023.
  35. "On Passage - H.R.497: To eliminate the COVID-19 vaccine mandate on". August 12, 2015.
  36. "Homeland Security, Public Safety and Immigration". Office of U.S. Representative Colin Allred. May 7, 2021. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  37. "H.Amdt. 558 (Ocasio-Cortez) to H.R. 2500: To prohibit the President … -- House Vote #467 -- Jul 12, 2019".
  38. Fink, Jack (May 3, 2023). "Rep. Colin Allred launches campaign to unseat Sen. Ted Cruz". CBS News. Retrieved May 3, 2023.
  39. "2018 Primary Election Official Results". Texas Secretary of State. Archived from the original on March 7, 2018. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  40. "Texas Election Results". Texas Secretary of State. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
  41. "Texas Election Results - Official Results". Texas Secretary of State. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  42. "Colin Allred & Alexandra Eber Engagement Announcement". The Dallas Morning News. April 30, 2017. Archived from the original on August 28, 2017. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  43. Dunaway-Seale, Jaime. "US Rep. Colin Allred welcomes newest member of the family".
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