Dallas Congressman Colin Allred is reporting strong fundraising numbers in his bid to unseat incumbent Republican Senator Ted Cruz in 2024. Allred is outpacing where Cruz's last Democratic challenger stood at this point in the 2018 campaign.
Allred's campaign confirms it raised nearly $6.2 million between the beginning of May and the end of June. That brings Allred's war chest to more than $8.6 million, including money rolled over from his House campaign account.
"People are naturally making comparisons to (former El Paso Congressman) Beto O'Rourke's run against Ted Cruz, because of Beto O'Rourke's incredible fundraising numbers," said Joshua Blank, research director of UT-Austin's Texas Politics Project. "And the reality of these early reports are that Allred's numbers seem to significantly outpace even O'Rourke's early entrance into the 2018 campaign."
Other Democrats who have signaled interest in challenging Cruz in next year's general election include State Senator Roland Gutierrez of San Antonio and State Representative Carl Sherman of DeSoto. Allred's strong early showing could potentially deter other contenders for the Democratic nomination.
"Fundraising numbers like this do a lot of work for (Allred) in terms of clearing the field of other potential challengers who know that they're unlikely to raise similar significant sums of money," Blank said.
Senator Cruz's reelection campaign told Houston Public Media it would release its own recent fundraising totals later this week. Blank said it would be a mistake to underestimate Cruz, who is seeking a third term.
"As much as Beto O'Rourke raised in his challenge to Ted Cruz in 2018, Ted Cruz certainly kept up in terms of his fundraising numbers throughout that race, and we should expect him to this time, even if he does face a very well-financed challenger," Blank said.
Copyright 2023 Houston Public Media News 88.7. To see more, visit Houston Public Media News 88.7. 9(MDAxODQzOTgwMDEyMTcyNjI4MTAxYWQyMw004))
