Congressman Colin Allred, a Democrat representing the Dallas area, this week sided with Republicans in condemning President Joe Biden’s border policies. Allred, who’s running to unseat U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, joined three other Texas Democrats in voting for a resolution denouncing Biden’s handling of the border.
The move has drawn criticism from some within Allred’s party, particularly State Rep. Roland Gutierrez, who will be facing off against Allred in the Democratic primary race for Cruz’s Senate seat.
“Gutierrez criticized him for siding with ‘GOP extremists,’” said Matthew Watkins, managing editor for news and politics at the Texas Tribune. “Ted Cruz called him a flip flopper, but Allred is raising concerns about the way the border is being handled by the Democratic administration.”
Watkins said this may be part of a bigger strategy for some Democrats with this year’s upcoming elections.
“If you look at the polls, you know, Texas voters consider the border a serious problem,” he said. “We’re seeing record numbers of migrants showing up at the border right now. And so Allred, I think, and some other Democrats are seeing that, you know, pretending that this isn’t an issue at all, trying to look the other way, might not be the best political strategy in 2024.”
Hear more stories from the Week in Texas Politics in the audio player above.