Colin Allred

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 . 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.
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, first at the Department of Housing and Urban Development and later at the Executive Office for United States Attorneys. On May 3, 2023, Allred announced his candidacy in the 2024 United States Senate election in Texas.
Early life and education
Allred was born in Dallas, Texas. His father is black and his mother is white.
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. He played for the Baylor Bears as a linebacker. In December 2005, Allred graduated from Baylor with a B.A. in history. As a senior, he was All-Big 12 honorable mention.
NFL career
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.
In four seasons for the Titans between 2007 and 2010, Allred appeared in 32 games and recorded 46 tackles.
He became a free agent before the 2011 season, but did not sign with another team.
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, 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.
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.
U.S. House of Representatives
Elections
2018
On April 21, 2017, Allred announced his campaign to challenge incumbent Republican Pete Sessions in 2018. 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. In the May 22 runoff election, Allred defeated Lewisville businesswoman Lillian Salerno, receiving 69.5% of the vote.
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. Allred described himself as a moderate Democrat.
On November 6, 2018, Allred was elected to the House of Representatives for the 32nd district of Texas. His victory was considered an upset because Sessions had been in Congress since 1997 and represented the 32nd district since its creation in 2003. 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.
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. After Castro withdrew from the race, Allred endorsed Joe Biden.
On December 18, 2019, Allred voted for both articles of impeachment against President Donald J. Trump. He also voted to impeach Trump in January 2021 during his second impeachment.
In 2021, Allred sought over $241 million in earmarks for his district, largely for projects at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport.
Committee assignments
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Subcommittee on the Middle East, North Africa and International Terrorism
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
Subcommittee on Aviation
Subcommittee on Highways and Transit
Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials
Committee on Veterans' Affairs
Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs
Caucus memberships
Congressional Black Caucus
New Democrat Coalition
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.
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." 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.
COVID-19
Allred has consistently emphasized the importance of vaccination against COVID-19 and has criticized others for spreading misinformation about the vaccine. 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." He has also opposed overriding the Medicare and Medicaid rules around requiring health care workers to be vaccinated.
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. In 2019, he opposed deploying troops along the southern border.
Israel
Allred voted to provide Israel with support following 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.
Syria
In 2023, Allred voted against H.Con.Res. 21 which directed President Joe Biden to remove U.S. troops from Syria within 180 days.
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.
Electoral history
Personal life
Allred married Alexandra Eber on March 25, 2017. They have two sons, born in 2019 and 2021.
See also
List of African-American United States representatives
List of American sportsperson-politicians
References
External links
Congressman Colin Allred official U.S. House website
Colin Allred for Congress
Tennessee Titans profile
Baylor Bears profile
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1983 births
African-American members of the United States House of Representatives
African-American people in Texas politics
American athlete-politicians
American football linebackers
American justices of the peace
Baylor Bears football players
Baylor University alumni
UC Berkeley School of Law alumni
Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Texas
Hillcrest High School (Dallas) alumni
Living people
Obama administration personnel
Players of American football from Houston
Players of American football from Dallas
Politicians from Houston
Tennessee Titans players
Texas lawyers
United States Department of Housing and Urban Development officials
21st-century African-American politicians
21st-century American politicians
21st-century American lawyers
21st-century American sportsmen
21st-century African-American lawyers