The 2024 Senate map still remains brutal for Democrats, but on Monday, they succeeded at adding an offensive target.

With Rep. Colin Allred’s decision to challenge Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, Democrats have somewhat surprisingly convinced a quality challenger to abandon his safe House seat and mount an uphill battle. It will not be easy, even given Cruz’s mixed popularity. And while the GOP senator had a close 2018 reelection bid, that was during a strong Democratic midterm year and not in a presidential year when the Republican nominee will be heavily favored to win the Lone Star State.

We wrote extensively about this race back in late March and were highly skeptical Allred would run. After flipping a competitive seat from red to blue in 2018, now he’d be giving up his seniority in the House and a newly-safe district after last cycle’s redistricting:

His profile is attractive for a statewide bid — a Black former linebacker who played for Baylor and later for the Tennessee Titans. He received his law degree from the University of

More from the Cook Political Report