News: A group of prominent Congressional Black Caucus leaders are endorsing former Rep. Colin Allred’s (D-Texas) Senate campaign, a critical sign of support from Black leaders following state Rep. James Talarico’s high-profile entrance into the race.
CBC Chair Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.), Assistant House Democratic Leader Joe Neguse, former CBC Chair Steven Horsford (D-Nev.) and CBC PAC Chair Greg Meeks (D-N.Y.) are all endorsing Allred. Reps. Sanford Bishop (D-Ga.) and Lauren Underwood (D-Ill.) are also backing Allred.
“[Allred] has built the kind of diverse, broad-based coalitions it takes to win tough races and deliver results — bringing people together across race, region, and party,” Meeks said in a statement.
Texas Democratic Rep. Marc Veasey endorsed Allred earlier this summer.
Allred, who served three terms in the House after winning a seat in 2018, represented a Dallas-area district and belonged to the CBC. Allred won the Democratic nomination in the 2024 Texas Senate race but lost to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) by eight points.
Yet while Allred breezed through the 2024 primary, the former House Democrat faces a far sterner test this cycle. Talarico raised more than $1 million in the first day of his campaign while winning plaudits from liberals for his launch video. Another Democrat, former NASA astronaut Terry Virts, is also in the race.
Allred’s campaign is positioning the 2024 hopeful as the stronger general election candidate, pointing to internal polling that has Allred leading potential GOP candidate Ken Paxton in a head-to-head matchup. Talarico argued to us that in order to win in 2026, Texas Democrats need to employ a “non-traditional” message.
Paxton is locked in a competitive GOP primary with longtime Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas). Other Republicans may jump into that contest as well.
