In a passionate address on Thursday evening at Houston’s Fifth Ward, Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Colin Allred emphatically denounced the state’s handling of recent devastating floods in the Texas Hill Country and Governor Greg Abbott’s proposal for mid-decade redistricting.
The rally, orchestrated by Blue Texas Majority, aimed at fostering support for Democratic initiatives and candidates to help turn Texas into a Democratic stronghold.
Allred began by urging the audience to pray for those affected by the floods on July 4, which tragically claimed the lives of over 100 individuals, with more than 100 people still unaccounted for.
“We have to have redundant systems to warn people, overlapping systems to warn people,” Allred asserted. “We have to fill key positions that are responsible for warning people.
You don’t know what you need from government until it’s not there.”
The former congressman from Dallas directed sharp criticism towards Governor Abbott’s decision to include redistricting as part of the special legislative session agenda.
One of the districts affected is Houston’s vacant 18th Congressional District, historically represented by Black Democrats for over 50 years, most recently by the late U.S. Rep. Sylvester Turner.
“They’re gonna have a special session just to see if they can squeeze out a little bit more juice, cut off a few more communities from representation,” Allred stated, pointing fingers at Republican lawmakers engaged in gerrymandering.
“That’s what gerrymandering is. It has broken the House of Representatives. It has led to us having more extreme people in office who are accountable to less people … and they want to increase that dysfunction.”
Allred has previously competed for the Senate seat in 2024 against incumbent U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, losing by nearly 9 percentage points.
He joins a growing list of Democrats vying for the Senate seat currently held by U.S. Senator John Cornyn, a Republican facing a primary challenge from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Other potential candidates include former NASA astronaut Terry Virts and Texas politicians such as U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, state Rep. James Talarico, and former Congressman Beto O’Rourke, who has recently engaged with Texas voters through town hall meetings in the Houston area.
At the rally, which drew a dedicated crowd, acting Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee and state Rep. Jolanda Jones were also present, both of whom are campaigning for the congressional seat left vacant by Turner.
Savant Moore, an elected trustee for Houston ISD and a truck driver who donned mud boots and a T-shirt, shared his thoughts on the significance of active participation in elections.
Having just finished work, Moore expressed his commitment to improving the school board and, ultimately, the state by taking on a leadership role himself.
“Why is it important to volunteer?” he asked the crowd at the Julia C. Hester House community center. “[Because] faith without works is dead.
I got all the faith in the world, but to make my school board better, I had to show up. And in order to make my state better, now I gotta run for office.”
He reflected on his personal sacrifices, stating, “I wish I could just be with my wife and my kids, and nobody knows my name, but I didn’t see anybody else stepping up.
Just like you didn’t see anyone else stepping up, so you in this room right now, continue to do it. Because we will empower our city, our state.”
Attendees showed overwhelming support for Allred, including Viola Hebert, who expressed her readiness to back the candidate again despite the impending competition.
Hebert, affiliated with the Texas Silver-Haired Legislature, emphasized the necessity of adopting a tougher stance in their political battles.
“We have to get mean and gritty sometimes in our fighting back, and I think that has been shown to us. Not that we have to go all the way to that low level, but we really do have to fight back with a different zest and a different energy.”
This gathering not only amplified support for Allred but also highlighted the urgent need for political engagement and community action in the wake of crises in Texas.
image source from：houstonpublicmedia
