6 July 20-26, 2023 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents things like DART.” Spouse Sheri added: “He pays attention to what people really want and less about culture wars.” Those culture wars have ramped up con- siderably in recent years, prompting some LGBTQ+ folks to flee the state. The LeNoirs have also devised a five-year contingency plan. The Senate needs leaders who ground their politics in reality, not those who cast stones at “some made-up boogeyman,” Sheri said. There are real problems affecting everyday Texans — like the state’s unreliable power grid — that could desperately use lawmakers’ focus. Practical politics isn’t always sexy. Bat- tles in the culture wars score points for law- makers on either side of the partisan divide. Yet Allred remains steadfast in pursuing something that he says takes a backseat for Cruz: actual policymaking. In a subsequent phone interview, he contrasted their legisla- tive styles. “I think it’s pretty clear if you watch ei- ther of us in a hearing, you can see that there’s a big difference between the two of us,” Allred said. “I’m not somebody who’s going to be yelling and trying to badger peo- ple. I’m usually trying to find common ground and get answers.” Allred prioritizes bipartisanship during a time of rising tribalism. He and a GOP representative from Flor- ida announced the creation of the Collegiate Sports Caucus in May. Several years ago, Allred led an effort to secure a Veterans Af- fairs health facility in Garland alongside then-U.S. Rep. Ron Wright, the late Texas Republican. And he helped pass the Biparti- san Infrastructure Law, with $5.47 billion pouring into Texas in 2023 to repair bridges and roads. Allred also backed a gun violence-pre- vention bill championed by Texas Sen. John Cornyn, a Republican. Cruz did not. “What I’ve seen in my time in Congress is that there are basically two types of folks: There’s workhorses pushing to get stuff done and actually help peo- ple, and there’s show horses who want to get in front of cameras, who want to get a lot of attention on themselves, that don’t really do much to help their constituents,” Allred said. “I consider my- self a workhorse. Ted Cruz is a show horse.” Buzz is building around Allred. Earlier this month his cam- paign celebrated a fundraising mile- stone. In 59 days he generated $6.2 mil- lion, an amount The Texas Tribune re- ported took O’Rourke nine months to raise. O’Rourke is a for- mer congressman who represented a safe Democratic district in El Paso. Republicans often gleefully point out that he’s since suffered defeat in all three of his latest campaigns: the Senate race in 2018, the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination and the gubernatorial election last year. While O’Rourke did much to mobilize left-leaning voters, Cruz is organizationally smart, said Matt Angle, director of the Lone Star Project, a Democratic research group. “Now, I think that Colin brings some dif- ferent things to the table than Beto,” he added, “and most important is Colin has beaten a Republican in a competitive envi- ronment before.” The former Tennessee Titans linebacker waved to the Dallas crowd on the night of Nov. 6, 2018. He stood in front of a backdrop of red, white and blue balloons, his wife — lawyer Alexandra Eber — beaming at his side. After retiring from the NFL, Allred at- tended law school and became a civil rights attorney. Now, in a surprise upset, he was headed to Congress. Republican Pete Sessions had served Texas’ Congressional District 32, which stretched across parts of Dallas and Collin counties, since 2003. (Prior to that, he’d repped the 5th district for several years.) Polls favored the seasoned GOP con- gressman to win. Allred would ultimately best Sessions by more than 6 points. “You better believe that the only thing that will matter to me in Congress is what’s good for us right here,” Allred said during his victory speech, eliciting cheers. “So, I hope that we can enjoy tonight — enjoy maybe tomorrow too — and then we’ve got to get to work.” During last month’s Pride celebration, state Rep. Venton Jones greeted Allred where the pro-LGBTQ+ Human Rights Campaign had made camp. Jones, a Dallas Democrat, recently became the Texas Capi- tol’s first Black gay lawmaker openly living with HIV. Jones thinks Allred will give Cruz a run for his money. Engagement will be crucial in the upcoming race, he said. “I think that because of the early an- nouncement of Colin, that allows that to happen: to be able to see him, to be able to learn more about his agenda and to really get people excited about participation in the 2024 election,” Jones said. Since his campaign’s launch in early May, Allred has worked to ex- pand his name recognition. A poll published later that same month put him just 5 points behind Cruz. The Dallas congress- man was early to enter the Democratic primary, but another Senate hopeful soon followed suit. San Antonio state Sen. Roland Gutierrez threw his hat in the ring on July 10. Both Allred’s and Cruz’s campaigns welcomed him to the race. Lone Star Project’s An- gle said that during his 30-plus years involved in Texas politics, he’s seen some great senators on both sides of the aisle, including Democrat Lloyd Bentsen and Re- publicans Kay Bailey Hutchi- son and John Tower. Cruz, he argued, is like having no senator at all: “We’ve just got a provocateur who wears the title of Texas senator.” The effort to boot the incumbent is gain- ing traction thanks to the new Lose Cruz su- per PAC, which Angle supports. He said Cruz spends more time promoting his pod- cast than he does helping Texas. The “non- serious elected official” embraces the role of partisan instigator, picking online fights with A-list celebrities and Sesame Street muppets. No one during the 2018 cycle expected that Sessions would lose, Angle said — him- self included. Since then, Allred has turned out to be “one of the best candidates” he’s ever seen. Allred has secured exemplary ratings from the AFL-CIO labor union coalition. Beyond his Democratic appeal, he’s proven he can attract moderate conservatives and independents, having received an endorse- ment from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The vacancy left by Allred likely won’t re- sult in District 32 flipping red, Angle said. Republican lawmakers gerrymandered it into a Democratic stronghold to make sur- rounding districts less competitive. Could Allred really beat the political odds and land in the U.S. Senate, though? Angle acknowledges it won’t be easy: “It’s going to take a lot of money. It’s going to take a lot of organization, but Colin is in a position to beat Ted Cruz. “If it’s possible [for Cruz] to be less liked than he was in 2018, he is now.” Many politicians superficially tout family values. Allred walks the walk. The congress- man, who had shown up to the Pride parade with his family in tow, paused during our in- terview after one of his young sons ran up. Munching on Goldfish crackers, the boy sought attention from his dad. Allred obliged before returning to our conversa- tion. In many ways, Allred embodies a new kind of masculinity. Here’s this Texas-bred former NFL athlete who has fiercely advo- cated for paid parental leave. He was the first known congressman to ignore the stigma and take paternity leave himself, first in 2019 and again in 2021. Allred was born at Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas and grew up in Oak Lawn before moving to North Dallas. He was raised by a single mom who worked as a public school teacher, although she held down another job to make ends meet. “But you know, I relied on our commu- nity. I went to the YMCA a lot; it’s where my first job was, where I spent every summer, every day off from school,” he said. “I had a lot of parents and coaches who kind of went the extra mile for me, so I feel very much like I was raised by a village — and that vil- lage just happened to be Dallas.” A gifted student athlete, Allred report- edly played football, baseball and basketball at North Dallas’ Hillcrest High School. His football prowess earned him a full-ride scholarship to Baylor University, where he graduated in 2005. Next up was the NFL. Allred retired from pro sports because of a neck injury after five seasons, then headed to UC Berkeley School of Law. He Unfair Park from p4 Alicia Claytor Above: Allread meets with state Rep. Venton Jones at the Pride event. Below: Allred during his NFL playing days as a linebacker for the Tennessee Titans. >> p8 Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images
