Colin Allred

Colin Zachary Allred (born April 15, 1983) is an American politician and civil rights attorney. He used to be a professional football player. He is a Democrat. He was the U.S. Representative for  from 2019 to 2025. That district covers the northeastern corner of Dallas. It also has many of its northeastern suburbs such as Garland, Richardson, University Park, Highland Park and Rowlett.

When he was a football player, he was a linebacker who played for the Tennessee Titans in the National Football League (NFL). Allred stopped playing football to go back to law school for a Juris Doctor degree, from the University of California, Berkeley. He then worked in the Obama administration and the U.S. Attorney's office.

Allred unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. Senate in 2024 against incumbent Republican Senator Ted Cruz. He is running for the U.S. Senate again in 2026 against incumbent Republican Senator John Cornyn.

 Football career 
Allred went to Hillcrest High School in Dallas, and then to Baylor University. He played college football at Baylor; he was a linebacker. In December 2005, Allred graduated from Baylor with a B.A. degree in history.


Allred joined the Tennessee Titans after the 2006 NFL Draft on May 4, 2006.

Law career
After his football career, Allred went to law school. He graduated from UC Berkeley School of Law in 2014. Then, Allred was a special assistant in the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Office of General Counsel.

After that, Allred worked as a lawyer at the Perkins Coie law firm, where he worked on voting rights cases. He also served as the lawyer for different political candidates and advocacy groups.

Politico, a political news source, described him as a "civil rights attorney."

U.S. House of Representatives
On April 21, 2017, Allred said he would challenge the current Representative from his district, Republican Pete Sessions, in the 2018 election. Allred won the most votes in the Democratic primary, but did not get more than 50 percent; he won by 20 points. Two of the other candidates also used to work in the Obama administration. In the May 22 runoff election, Allred beat Lewisville businesswoman Lillian Salerno, receiving 69.5% of the vote.

Allred then competed with Sessions for the 32nd District seat. As of the November 2016 election, the seat was considered a "swing district" because Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton received marginally more votes than Donald Trump even as Sessions, a Republican, was reelected with no major-party opposition. Allred has described himself as a moderate Democrat.

On November 6, 2018, Allred was elected to the United States House of Representatives for the 32nd district of Texas. Allred's victory was considered an upset because Sessions has been in Congress since 1997 and has represented the 32nd District since 2003. Allred became the second person to represent this district since it was created in 2003, and the first Democrat. Sessions used to represent the nearby 5th District, but had switched after the district maps were changed.

In February 2019, Allred endorsed Julian Castro in the 2020 presidential race. Castro, like Allred, is from Texas. Castro used to be the Housing and Urban Development Secretary.

 Service 
Allred was elected in November 2018 as co-president of the 116th Congressional Freshman Class. The other president was Representative Haley Stevens of Michigan.

 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

U.S. Senate campaigns
2024

On May 3, 2023, Allred announced his candidacy for the United States Senate in 2024, running against Republican incumbent Ted Cruz. On March 5, 2024, Allred won the primary nomination for the Democratic Party. He lost the election to Cruz in November 2024 by 8.6 points.

2026

On July 1, 2025, Allred announced his candidacy for the United States again, this time running against Republican incumbent John Cornyn in the 2026 election.

Personal life
Allred married Alexandra Eber on March 25, 2017. Their son, Jordan, was born on February 12, 2019.

References

Other websites

 Congressman Colin Allred  official U.S. House website
Colin Allred for Congress
Tennessee Titans bio
Baylor Bears football bio

Category:1983 births
Category:American football linebackers
Category:Living people
Category:Tennessee Titans players
Category:21st-century American politicians
Category:Lawyers from Dallas
Category:United States representatives from Texas
Category:Democratic Party (United States) politicians
Category:Politicians from Dallas
Category:Sportspeople from Dallas
Category:African-American politicians