"Colin Allred Secures Democratic Nomination to Challenge Ted Cruz in Texas Senate Race"

Representative Colin Allred, a Dallas-area Democrat and former N.F.L. linebacker-turned-civil rights lawyer, won the Democratic primary race for the U.S. Senate, positioning himself to challenge Senator Ted Cruz. Allred, who presented himself as an across-the-aisle politician with a working-class background, faces steep odds in the general election, as no Democrat has won a statewide office in Texas since the 1990s. He has focused his campaign on criticizing Cruz and has attracted significant interest from donors, out-raising his closest opponent in the race.