Ex-NFL linebacker poised to return to Congress after Texas runoff win with Jasmine Crockett endorsement
Colin Allred Wins Democratic Primary Runoff in Texas House District, Set to Return to Congress
A former congressman is back in the race for a U.S. House seat after winning a competitive Democratic primary runoff on Tuesday. Colin Allred, who served Texas’s 32nd District from 2019 to 2023, defeated fellow Democrat Julie Johnson to secure the party’s nomination for the newly drawn 32nd‑seat that will be contested in the November general election.
The runoff followed an initial primary held on March 3, in which Allred finished ahead of Johnson by an 11‑point margin but did not reach the 50‑percent threshold required to avoid a second round. Allred’s victory in the second‑round election, held on a Tuesday later that month, positions him as the frontrunner to win the seat, which is considered safely Democratic after last year’s redistricting.
The district, which covers parts of Dallas and surrounding suburbs, was redrawn in 2023 to shift its partisan balance toward the Democrats. Republican lawmakers had drawn the map in a bid to flip up to five seats, but the 32nd has remained in Democratic hands. Incumbent Representative Marc Veasey chose not to seek re‑election, creating the open seat that drew both Allred and Johnson into the race.
Johnson, a freshman representative who succeeded Allred in 2023 after he left to run for the Senate against Senator Ted Cruz, entered the contest after the GOP’s new map effectively pushed her out of her original district. In the 2023 election, she won the seat that had been vacated by Allred.
Allred had previously campaigned for the U.S. Senate in 2026 but suspended that bid after it failed to gain traction. He had also endorsed fellow Democrat Jasmine Crockett during the final months of the Senate primary, after Crockett’s opponent, state Representative James Talarico, allegedly made a racist remark about Allred in a private phone call with a campaign activist. Talarico denied calling Allred a “mediocre Black man,” insisting his comments were about Allred’s campaign style.
The two candidates received support from different factions within the party. Johnson garnered endorsements from House Democratic leadership, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, pro‑abortion group EMILY’s List, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, among others. Allred, meanwhile, benefited from his prior statewide name recognition and a sizable fundraising advantage that helped him outpace his opponent in the primary.
With the runoff complete, Allred is widely expected to win the November general election, securing his return to the House after a brief hiatus. The victory also underscores the ongoing impact of Texas’s new congressional map, which has shifted the political landscape in the state’s congressional districts.
