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 by | Pete Sessions |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Colin Zachary Allred April 15, 1983 Dallas, Texas, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Alexandra Eber (m. 2017) |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Baylor University (BA) University of California, Berkeley (JD) |
| Website | House website |
| American 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 | |
| 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 edit
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]
NFL career edit
| Height | Weight | 40-yard dash | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 1+1⁄8 in (1.86 m) | 237 lb (108 kg) | 4.85 s | 4.37 s | 7.33 s | 34.0 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 edit
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 edit
Elections edit
2018 edit
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 edit
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]
As of 2022, Allred has voted with President Joe Biden 100% of the time, according to FiveThirtyEight. This gives him a Biden Plus/Minus score of +10.3 with higher support for Biden than would be expected given the makeup of his district.[27]
Committee assignments edit
- Committee on Foreign Affairs
- Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
- Committee on Veterans' Affairs
Caucus memberships edit
Political positions edit
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.[29]
Gun laws edit
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."[30] 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.[31][32]
COVID-19 edit
Allred has consistently emphasized the importance of vaccination against COVID-19[33] and has criticized others for spreading misinformation about the vaccine.[34] 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."[33] He has also opposed overriding the Medicare and Medicaid rules around requiring health care workers to be vaccinated.[35][36]
Immigration edit
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.[37] In 2019, he opposed deploying troops along the southern border.[38]
Israel edit
Allred voted to provide Israel with support following 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.[39][40]
Syria edit
In 2023, Allred voted against H.Con.Res. 21 which directed President Joe Biden to remove U.S. troops from Syria within 180 days.[41][42]
2024 United States Senate election edit
On May 3, 2023, Allred announced his candidacy for the United States Senate in 2024, challenging Republican incumbent Ted Cruz.[43]
Electoral history edit
| 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 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Colin Allred | 15,658 | 69.5 | |
| Democratic | Lillian Salerno | 6,874 | 30.5 | |
| Total votes | 22,532 | 100 | ||
| 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 | ||||
| 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 | ||||
| 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 edit
Allred married Alexandra Eber on March 25, 2017.[47] They have two sons, born in 2019 and 2021.[48]
See also edit
References edit
- ^ "Full list of White House summer interns for 2013". The Washington Post. July 12, 2013. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ "Rep. Colin Allred launches Senate bid to oust Ted Cruz". Dallas News. May 3, 2023. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
- ^ Gonzales, Nathan L. (June 21, 2019). "For Colin Allred, Major League dreams are close to coming true". Roll Call. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
- ^ . Tennessee Titans. Archived from the original on January 6, 2011. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
- ^ a b "Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress - Retro Member details". bioguideretro.congress.gov.
- ^ "2005 SBC All-Big 12 Conference Football Awards Announced". Big 12. November 29, 2005. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
- ^ "Colin Allred, Baylor, OLB, 2006 NFL Draft Scout, NCAA College Football". draftscout.com. Retrieved January 6, 2022.
- ^ "Colin Allred career game logs". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
- ^ "Colin Allred". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
- ^ Coin Allred Transactions and injuries, Sports Forecaster, July 25, 2011. Retrieved May 3, 2023.
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ "2015 Perkins Coie Diversity Year In Review". Perkins Coie. January 29, 2017.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Texas Primary Runoff Election Results". The New York Times. May 29, 2018. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Caygle, Heather (November 24, 2018). "It's not just Ocasio-Cortez: Here are 7 freshman Democrats to watch". Politico. Retrieved December 9, 2018.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Evans, Molly (November 7, 2018). "Texas Midterm Election Results: Abbott, Cruz Win Re-Election; Allred Beats Sessions". KERA-TV. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Montellaro, Zach (February 20, 2019). "Sanders sprints out of the gate in his presidential bid". Politico. Retrieved February 22, 2019.
- ^ Klar, Rebecca (January 13, 2020). "Tenth Congressional Black Caucus member backs Biden". The Hill. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
- ^ Panetta, Grace. "WHIP COUNT: Here's which members of the House voted for and against impeaching Trump". Business Insider.
- ^ "Here's how the House voted on Trump's second impeachment". Politico.com.
- ^ Shutt, Jennifer (May 26, 2021). "Vulnerable Democrats bet earmark stigma has worn off". Roll Call. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
- ^ Bycoffe, Anna Wiederkehr and Aaron (April 22, 2021). "Does Your Member Of Congress Vote With Or Against Biden?". FiveThirtyEight. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
- ^ "Leadership | New Democrat Coalition". newdemocratcoalition.house.gov. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
- ^ Bycoffe, Anna Wiederkehr and Aaron (January 3, 2023). "Does Your Member Of Congress Vote With Or Against Biden?". FiveThirtyEight. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
- ^ "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.
- ^ 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) - ^ "H.R.698 - Assault Weapons Ban of 2023". Congress.gov. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ 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. from the original on January 29, 2023. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
- ^ "Seven Democrats join Republicans in vote to lift vaccine mandate for healthcare workers". January 31, 2023.
- ^ "On Passage - H.R.497: To eliminate the COVID-19 vaccine mandate on". August 12, 2015.
- ^ "Homeland Security, Public Safety and Immigration". Office of U.S. Representative Colin Allred. May 7, 2021. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
- ^ "H.Amdt. 558 (Ocasio-Cortez) to H.R. 2500: To prohibit the President … -- House Vote #467 -- Jul 12, 2019".
- ^ Demirjian, Karoun (October 25, 2023). "House Declares Solidarity With Israel in First Legislation Under New Speaker". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
- ^ Washington, U. S. Capitol Room H154; p:225-7000, DC 20515-6601 (October 25, 2023). "Roll Call 528 Roll Call 528, Bill Number: H. Res. 771, 118th Congress, 1st Session". Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "H.Con.Res. 21: Directing the President, pursuant to section 5(c) of … -- House Vote #136 -- Mar 8, 2023". GovTrack.us. March 8, 2023. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
- ^ "House Votes Down Bill Directing Removal of Troops From Syria". US News & World Report. March 8, 2023. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
- ^ Fink, Jack (May 3, 2023). "Rep. Colin Allred launches campaign to unseat Sen. Ted Cruz". CBS News. Retrieved May 3, 2023.
- ^ . Texas Secretary of State. Archived from the original on March 7, 2018. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
- ^ "Texas Election Results". Texas Secretary of State. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
- ^ "Texas Election Results - Official Results". Texas Secretary of State. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
- ^ . The Dallas Morning News. April 30, 2017. Archived from the original on August 28, 2017. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
- ^ Dunaway-Seale, Jaime. . Archived from the original on April 14, 2021. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
External links edit
- Congressman Colin Allred official U.S. House website
- Colin Allred for Congress
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
- Legislation sponsored at the Library of Congress
- Profile at Vote Smart
- Appearances on C-SPAN