A popular Dallas politician is running against Senator Ted Cruz: Congressman Colin Allred, who currently serves as U.S. representative from Texas' 32nd congressional district, has announced his campaign to run for U.S. Senate.

Allred was first elected to Congress in 2018 and is considered a rising Democratic star.

He was born and raised in North Dallas by a single mom who was a Dallas public school teacher; was class president at Hillcrest High School; and earned a full-ride football scholarship to Baylor University.

He went on to play in the NFL where he was a linebacker for the Tennessee Titans five seasons before sustaining a career-ending injury.

He graduated from UC Berkeley School of Law in 2014, then became a civil rights attorney, serving in the General Counsel's office at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

He returned to Dallas and ran for office to represent the district he grew up in, beating Republican incumbent Pete Sessions. The district includes the northeastern corner of Dallas, as well northeastern suburbs such as Garland, Richardson, Sachse, Wylie, the Park Cities, and Rowlett.

According to Allred's website, his top priorities in Congress have been working to lower health care costs, protecting Medicare and Social Security, expanding access to vocational and trade schools, lowering the cost of college, rebuilding roads and bridges, passing immigration reform, and taking care of veterans.

In his candidacy announcement, he pays tribute to his mother:

"It starts with my mom," he says. "She raised me on her own, taught in Dallas public schools, and sometimes worked two jobs to make ends meet. Thanks to my mom, a strong support system, and the good folks at our local YMCA, I got a full-ride football scholarship to Baylor and then made it to the NFL, which was truly a dream come true."

"Then, I went on to fulfill another dream: becoming a civil rights attorney. I proudly served in the Obama administration before I came home to Dallas, where I’m raising my family."

"I ran for office because I wanted more Dallas kids to have the opportunity to succeed – and in my first race I defeated an 11-term GOP incumbent, helping Democrats flip the House blue in 2018," he says. Now, I’m ready for my next fight: taking on Ted Cruz."

He will have to relinquish his U.S. House seat to run against Cruz. His candidacy follows a race between Cruz and Beto O’Rourke in 2018 in which Cruz won by only 215000 votes.