Why I'm running and why I need you with me
I want to share the "why" behind my decision to run for Senate here in Texas.
Hey y’all, it’s Colin. If you have the time, I’d love to take a minute to share the “why” behind my decision to run for Senate here in Texas.
How we got here
If you found your way to my corner of Substack, you’ve probably already heard my story: I’m a fourth-generation Texan, born in Dallas and raised by a single mom who was a public school teacher and took on extra jobs to make ends meet. Thanks to my family and a strong support system of teachers, coaches, and the folks at our local YMCA, I earned a full-ride football scholarship to Baylor and went on to play in the NFL.
After that, I fulfilled another dream: earning my law degree and becoming a civil rights lawyer. I worked in the Obama administration, and then I went on to serve in Congress and represent the community that raised me, working to create opportunity for kids and families, protect affordable health care, and bring better-paying jobs to our state.
Last year, I ran for Senate against Ted Cruz – and although we fell short in that race, I’m incredibly proud of the grassroots movement we built and the fact that we outran the presidential ticket by nearly 200,000 votes, which was the most of any Democratic Senate campaign in the entire country.
Why I’m running again
After last year’s race, I took some time off to think about what’s next. I spent a lot of time with my family and in my community here in Dallas, and unfortunately, I saw things quickly go from bad to worse.
Costs continued to skyrocket due to Trump’s tariffs and chaotic economic policies…
Mass layoffs and funding cuts put critical programs like Social Security at risk…
Trump and his allies in the Senate started pushing a disastrous budget that threatened to rip health care away from over a million Texans…
People’s fundamental rights were under attack as the administration moved to implement its MAGA agenda…
And no one in our government was doing a thing to stop it. Senate Republicans like John Cornyn enabled Trump’s every whim – even when he knew the administration’s policies would harm Texas families.
And then multiple polls started to show that I was the Democrat with the best chance at challenging the GOP for this seat.
I knew too much was at stake not to try again.
How I know I can win
Entering this race was not a decision I took lightly.
We built an enormous machine last cycle – full of thousands of volunteers, supporters, and grassroots donors. But, I knew we still needed to run a different kind of campaign this year.
We need to go even further – be ready to pound the pavement across thousands of miles, talk to more Texans in corners of the state that are usually left untouched, and speak truth to power in some really tough situations.
Luckily, I’ve never been one to do anything halfheartedly. I went undrafted in my first attempt to play in the NFL but I locked in and fought my way in. After law school, I worked to defend our voting rights nationwide and here in Texas. And when I challenged a 22-year GOP Congressional incumbent – a race where pollsters said I had just a 10% chance of victory – I won and went on to Washington to fight for the people of North Dallas, a district I was born and raised in.
I’m 100% in this race – for my kids’ futures and yours – and I truly believe that I’m the best person for the job and that this campaign, with thousands of grassroots supporters like you standing with it, has the best chance we’ve got of winning here in Texas.
And there’s real data to back that theory up. After multiple polls showed me ahead of my likely GOP opponent, experts at The Hill ranked this one of Democrats’ best pickup opportunities in the entire country. That’s a huge testament to the grassroots movement we are building.
My humble request of you
Even though we’ve built incredible momentum early on, we still have a long way to go, and it’s going to take a lot of resources to capitalize on this golden opportunity to flip Texas blue for the first time in more than three decades – starting with our first FEC end-of-quarter deadline of this race this Tuesday.
What we raise between now and then will be a matter of public record, showing the strength – or weakness – of this campaign. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you how important it is that we show that we have what it takes to win.
Republicans are already planning to spend tens of millions of dollars to crush our momentum and stop us from flipping this seat. They have corporate PACs and GOP mega donors lining up to help them. Frankly, I’m worried that if we fall short of our $350,000 end-of-quarter goal, we won’t have the resources needed to fight back against their attacks.
So please, if you believe Texans deserve better than the failed leadership we’ve gotten from Senate Republicans, if you’re ready to see a Democrat represent the state of Texas in the U.S. Senate, please rush a donation to reach my goal before the FEC end-of-quarter deadline on Sept. 30.
We’ve got an incredible chance to win this race if people like you join us right now. Thank you for being a part of our movement.
For Texas,
Colin
Paid for by Allred for Texas
I am with you.
The responsibility for this crisis definitely lies with the people who voted for Donald Trump. As poor of a candidate as Kamala Harris was, she was 100 times better than Trump. But her candidacy was flawed. She ran away from woke and it made her look totally insincere. And then, when asked repeatedly, what would you do different than Biden? She rambled.. and it was the easiest question in the world. She could’ve said “I don’t know if anyone could’ve been better than Joe Biden. He saved us from the pandemic. Trump is the one that got 1 million Americans killed by saying, Covid will only last a month. And not having a vaccination distribution plan? Trump left it up to the states. Biden did it. Then passed the infrastructure bill and the stock market went to all time highs, unemployment all-time lows. He was handling runaway inflation, it was coming down. People were working, we’re the most powerful country in the world, the richest country in the world, Biden took care of it all. And I’m here to continue his good work.”
Instead, she giggled and rambled and seemed afraid to stand up for Joe Biden. She was not a good candidate. She was not a good candidate in 2019 when she ran against Biden. She faded after the first week, even her supporters fell away. Joe Biden should never have chose her. He should’ve chose the best person available. Race should not have been a factor. But if wanted to choose a black woman he should’ve chosen Susan Rice, and not announced that he was choosing her because she was a black, chose her because she was the best. Race should not be on our minds when choosing the best. Susan Rice could’ve stood up on her own without any favors. We’ve got to dump woke. We’ve turned out to be more race conscious than Republicans because of it. And it doesn’t make us look better. And it gave us Donald Trump. If Hillary Clinton would’ve been president in 2008. Obama would’ve been her vice president, And eight years later, he would’ve ran against Donald Trump and swamped him. And If course, the woke far left would never have attacked a black man like they attacked, who they considered a wealthy white woman. As if having a successful incredibly capable ex first lady, and New York senator, with an academic past to admire, and an increment genius to boot, was somehow unworthy? She was the one that the GOP feared. She was the one that Putin feared. She was the one Russians attacked. They all helped Bernie. The Far left was on the side of the GOP, Putin, the Russians. Against the Democrats and Hillary. That’s why we have Donald Trump now. Let us not forget, that’s how it happened. That’s why it happened. If you don’t remember the past, you’re doomed to repeat it. If you refuse to recognize it, you’re going down the same path. We have to play strong hardball politics, Dump the tiddlywinks.
Nope. Running on your story is not a campaign. You truly don’t know how to campaign, to reach the people or rally them. We gave you a chance against Ted Cruz, who even Republicans detest, and you failed miserably. Putting my money with other candidates, like Talarico, Castro or O’Rourke, so please stop texting for donations.