Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas) is running for the Democratic nomination to challenge Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) in next year’s elections — and Allred’s campaign is off to a powerful start. In roughly a day and a half following Allred announcing his campaign, the team already raised over $2 million, the candidate said earlier this week.
That total is far above the routine amounts that could’ve been expected. Although Cruz is likely to see an increase in the pace of his fundraising as his battle for re-election actually gets closer, Allred’s total from less than two days is about double the amount that Cruz’s principal campaign committee raised in the entirety of the first three months of this year. In the first quarter, the Cruz campaign reported just over $1 million in total contributions, with additional monetary support, including from other authorized political committees, still leaving the Cruz team way behind Allred’s total.
Cruz last faced Beto O’Rourke when on a general election ballot, at which time the infamous Texas Republican won with a leading margin of just over two and a half percentage points. In the time since, Cruz has cemented himself as a political ally to Trump despite originally challenging the now former president for the GOP presidential nomination in 2016. Cruz was a prominent supporter of the effort in Congress to block certain electoral votes won by Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential race. Elsewhere, Cruz has also resisted taking substantial action on gun violence, ignoring that changing the laws has already been shown to be well-positioned to save lives. In the shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, an attacker used a legally obtained firearm. Different rules, as had already been imposed in other jurisdictions, could’ve meant the incident never happened!
I’ve been a part of some incredible teams in my life, but y’all have helped me raise over $2 million in just 36 hours since I announced my campaign to represent all Texans.
Together, we set a record for this cycle raising the most in the first day of a Senate campaign.
— Colin Allred (@ColinAllredTX) May 5, 2023
