Former U.S. Rep. Colin Allred won the Democratic nomination for the newly-drawn House District 33 in Dallas County Tuesday, defeating his incumbent predecessor Julie Johnson in a runoff election.
The Associated Press called the race for Allred shortly after 10 p.m. Tuesday night, when Allred had about 55% of the vote to Johnson’s 45%.
Allred told supporters during an election night watch party in Old East Dallas he wants to fix a political system that’s made living unaffordable.
“I can't tell folks now that this system is fair to them. I can’t tell them that,” he said. “If you feel like it's rigged, that's because it has been.”
KERA reached out to Johnson’s campaign and will update this story with any response.
Allred’s win in the solidly Democratic district gives him a clear path to victory in November. He will face off against Republican nominee Patrick David Gillespie, who works in the international division for UPS Supply Chain Solutions. The AP called the GOP runoff for Gillespie with about 57% of the vote against John Sims.
Allred’s win also represents a political comeback for the candidate.
He was first elected to represent the neighboring District 32 in 2019 before vacating the seat in 2024 to run against U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, whom he ultimately failed to beat. Allred endorsed Johnson at the time to replace him.
He was also in this year’s Democratic Senate primary race before dropping out to avoid a costly runoff, Allred said at the time. He pivoted to running for District 33 shortly after.
If Allred wins in November, he will enter a congressional landscape marked with the policies of President Donald Trump's second term. He will have to address concerns from constituents about Trump's deportation campaign, war in Iran and affordability.
“I want to see hearings, I want to see investigations, I want to see us hold them accountable,” Allred said Tuesday night. “And here in North Texas, if they come into Dallas or they come into these communities, I want them to know that I'm going to be watching.”
Johnson, a Farmers Branch Democrat, decided to run for District 33 this year after District 32 was redrawn to be more Republican friendly. The District 33 incumbent, Marc Veasey, decided not to run again because the district was redrawn to exclude Fort Worth, where he lives.
The race between predecessor and successor was surprisingly combative, with Johnson attacking Allred’s voting history and the former congressman criticizing the incumbent’s stock trades.
Johnson faced criticism for the trading of Palantir stock. The Trump administration has used Palantir technology to help carry out its deportations.
Johnson said she began divesting her stocks in March after she came into office.
Johnson meanwhile accused Allred of being a “flip-flopper” on immigration issues. She pointed out Allred voted in favor of the Laken Riley Act — a law that requires immigrants without authorization to be detained without bond for certain crimes like shoplifting — in 2024. But this year he began calling for abolishing ICE, saying he lost faith in the agency after Trump’s administration ramped up deportations.
Allred was a civil rights lawyer, a former NFL player and worked in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development under the Obama administration before becoming a congressman in 2019.
During his time in office, Allred was a member of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, where he supported legislation that saw the creation of at least two new health care centers for veterans in Dallas County. As a member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, he also advocated for more investment into the North Texas region.
Dylan Duke is KERA's Breaking News Reporter. Got a tip? Email Dylan Duke at dduke@kera.org.
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