DALLAS — As he campaigns across Texas in his run for the U.S. Senate, Congressman Colin Allred is convinced there is at least one issue that will play a large role in the election, particularly as a motivator for voter turnout: abortion rights.
In a recent op-ed in the Dallas Morning News, the Dallas Democrat said if elected to the Senate, he would vote to codify the protections offered under Roe v. Wade.
“Go back to the standard that we’ve had for the last 50 years because what we’re going to have now is that lawyers, not doctors, are going to be determining whether or not a woman is sick enough for her to get the care that her doctor thinks she needs,” Allred told us on Inside Texas Politics.
Allred also discussed Kate Cox, the Texas mother who was forced to travel out of state for an abortion after asking a judge to allow her to terminate her pregnancy because the fetus wouldn’t survive. The Texas Supreme Court ultimately ruled against Cox on Dec. 11 but asked the Texas Medical Board to provide additional guidance. The chair of the medical board has since said it’s not the group’s role to give doctors legal clarity on the state’s strict abortion law.
Allred argues that Cox’s case isn’t an unintended consequence of the state's abortion ban but exactly what the law’s proponents were fighting for.
And he says this is exactly what big government looks like.
“It’s a big deal because I think we’re about freedom in our state. Fundamentally, I think Texans want to be left alone. They want to be able to pursue their version of the American dream. We’re not really in favor of government making personal decisions for you, and that’s what we’re seeing right here,” Allred argued.
Allred faces a crowded Democratic primary in his bid for U.S. Senate.
There are more than a dozen candidates, though three of them lead in fundraising and polling: Allred, state Sen. Roland Gutierrez and state Rep. Carl Sherman.
Allred says his goal is to win without a runoff so the campaign can focus solely on incumbent Republican Sen. Ted Cruz.
“And what we’re going to make sure folks know is that Ted Cruz is somebody we can’t afford to have as our Senator for the next six years, who’s not been doing the job over the last six years, who abandoned us when we had a statewide crisis and 30 million Texans were freezing in the dark, who’s, I think, one of the architects of January 6th, who has been somebody who has voted against, consistently, legislation that is most helpful to our state, whether it’s the infrastructure bill, or the CHIPS and Science Act, or after Uvalde, the Safer Communities Act," Allred said. "This is someone who’s not done the job, and I will.”
Editor's Note: The following video was uploaded in May 2023.