Colin Allred to Challenge Ted Cruz

[applegrove]

Colin Allred to Challenge Ted Cruz

May 1, 2023 at 3:19 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 38 Comments

https://politicalwire.com/2023/05/01/colin-allred-to-challenge-ted-cruz/

"SNIP.......

Rep. Colin Allred (D-TX) is planning to announce a run against Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) as soon as this week, Politico reports.

“A former NFL player-turned-civil rights attorney, Allred has been quietly prepping for a run against Cruz for months. During his two successful reelection bids since ousting an entrenched incumbent in 2018, Allred has proven a prolific fundraiser. He’s well-liked within the Democratic Caucus and has also picked up positions in leadership, now serving as a member of House Minority Whip Katherine Clark’s (D-MA) team and as previously part of then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) expansive leadership team.”

........SNIP"

[calguy]

1. He's a good man

It remains to be seen if more Texans want to be represented by a good man than the scoundrel they have in Cruzifer.

At least they have a new face to vote for, after the enthusiasm for Beto has run it's course.

[JanLip]

6. Cruzifer

I love it!! Good description

Jan

[Cha]

2. Best of Luck to Rep Allread!

[LetMyPeopleVote]

3. Collin is a real attorney who will eat Carnival Cruz' lunch

[Faux pas]

4. Kickin' with Gusto!

[FakeNoose]

5. Photo of Colin Allred (Politico)

[ShazzieB]

7. Any relation to Gloria Allred?

Just wondering, as it's not a super common name. Either way, he sounds great.

[nycbos]

13. Don't think so.

Gloria Allred is white

[Celerity]

22. I'm not saying they are related at all, but many of us black folk have white family members. My

father, for instance, is about as white as one can get (Swedish with 1000 plus years of known family history there).

Colin Allred's father is black (he never was in his life, Colin never met him, and his father died when he was 10 years old, unbeknownst to Colin until later), his mother (whose last name is Allred) is white, and his wife is also white.

Same for President Obama (parent wise, black father, white mother), etc etc etc x untold millions.

[JudyM]

30. 1000 years!

[Celerity]

32. yes, actually closer to 1200, the earliest relative for which there's fairly defintive proof that

his family has found so far goes back to the mid 800's CE, about 40 or 50 years after the start of the Viking age (which is generally thought to be on the 8th of June, 793 CE. when Vikings destroyed the abbey on Lindisfarne, Northumberland, but some are now disputing that, as there is earlier evidence of prior, smaller raids, so maybe it actually kicked off as early as around 700 CE or so).



'Free us from the fury of the Northmen, Lord.'

[ShazzieB]

35. Fascinating!

I just found it that Gloria is an Allred by marriage, so she wouldn't be related to Colin by blood. But there is a connection!

[Horse with no Name]

43. Lots of Allred's here in Texas n/t

[pfitz59]

8. If Colin calls Mrs Cruz 'ugly'

will tiny Ted finally 'man up'?

[James48]

9. Ok

Well, as soon as he sets up an ActBlue account for THE Senate run- I’ll chip in. Is it up yet?

[ananda]

10. If he's against Cruz, he's got my vote.

...

[LiberalFighter]

11. There should be several angles Allred should be able to use against Cruz.

[ShazzieB]

15. Yeah, like taking off for the sun and surf of Cancun while Texans were

literally freezing to death? That's the best one I can think of right now, but I'm sure there must be others!

[LiberalFighter]

21. Personally I don't consider Cruz to be an American citizen.

He was born in Canada and at the time dual citizenship was not allowed in Canada and only Canadians could vote. His parents voted.

[ShazzieB]

25. Yeah, I have never understood how he could be eligible to run for potus.

And the same people who questioned Obama's citizenship had absolutely no trouble with Cruz. What a farce.

[Celerity]

28. he is not eligible, IMHO, see post 27 for a legal argument as to why he is not

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100217874895#post27

[ShazzieB]

29. But yet he ran for the GOP nomination in 2016.

I agree that he's not eligible, but I don't remember any real questions being raised about it in 2016. That's what I don't understand.

[Celerity]

31. There were a tonne of questions, and if he had started to look like he would be the nominee, SCOTUS

would have had a case quickly tossed to them and likely would have said no, he is not natural-born.

A bit of an aside:

I am an American citizen by birth in Los Angeles in 1996, but left the US with my parents before my 2nd birthday. I also lived in the US for 2 plus years whilst reading for my MBA. BUT, if I gave birth to a child now, here in Sweden or the UK (my other two citizenships) or in any part of the world that is not considered US territory, they would not become a US citizen automatically, because I have not lived in the US for more than five years (close, but not long enough) before giving birth (I do meet the 2nd part, which is that 2 of the 5 years must be after you turn 14). Cruz's mother did meet both parts, so he is a naturalised (at birth) US citizens, BUT, he is not a natural born one as he was born OUTSIDE of the all US territory.

I also think that McCain would have had issues, because the law that made the Panama Canal Zone subject to being US territory passed 11 months AFTER he was born. He was NOT granted U.S. citizenship until the age of 11 months. Thank fuck he lost or it would have been a potential shitshow.

[ShazzieB]

33. Very informative, thanks!

I guess this means that my senator, Tammy Duckworth, will never be eligible to be potus, either. (She was born in Bangkok, to an American father and a Thai mother.) Ah well, I suspected as much!

[Celerity]

27. he of course is an American citizen, BUT not a natural-born one, thus not eligible for POTUS, IMHO

Opinion: Ted Cruz is not eligible to be president

Donald Trump is actually right about something: Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) is not a natural-born citizen and therefore is not eligible to be president or vice president of the United States.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/ted-cruz-is-not-eligible-to-be-president/2016/01/12/1484a7d0-b7af-11e5-99f3-184bc379b12d_story.html

https://archive.is/Y8e5m

The Constitution provides that "No person except a natural born Citizen . . . shall be eligible to the Office of President." The concept of "natural born" comes from common law, and it is that law the Supreme Court has said we must turn to for the concept's definition. On this subject, common law is clear and unambiguous. The 18th-century English jurist William Blackstone, the preeminent authority on it, declared natural-born citizens are "such as are born within the dominions of the crown of England," while aliens are "such as are born out of it." The key to this division is the assumption of allegiance to one's country of birth. The Americans who drafted the Constitution adopted this principle for the United States. James Madison, known as the "father of the Constitution," stated, "It is an established maxim that birth is a criterion of allegiance. . . . [And] place is the most certain criterion; it is what applies in the United States."

Cruz is, of course, a U.S. citizen. As he was born in Canada, he is not natural-born. His mother, however, is an American, and Congress has provided by statute for the naturalization of children born abroad to citizens. Because of the senator’s parentage, he did not have to follow the lengthy naturalization process that aliens without American parents must undergo. Instead, Cruz was naturalized at birth. This provision has not always been available. For example, there were several decades in the 19th century when children of Americans born abroad were not given automatic naturalization.

Article I of the Constitution grants Congress the power to naturalize an alien — that is, Congress may remove an alien’s legal disabilities, such as not being allowed to vote. But Article II of the Constitution expressly adopts the legal status of the natural-born citizen and requires that a president possess that status. However we feel about allowing naturalized immigrants to reach for the stars, the Constitution must be amended before one of them can attain the office of president. Congress simply does not have the power to convert someone born outside the United States into a natural-born citizen.

Let me be clear: I am not a so-called birther. I am a legal historian. President Obama is without question eligible for the office he serves. The distinction between the president and Cruz is simple: The president was born within the United States, and the senator was born outside of it. That is a distinction with a difference. In this election cycle, numerous pundits have declared that Cruz is eligible to be president. They rely on a supposed consensus among legal experts. This notion appears to emanate largely from a recent comment in the Harvard Law Review Forum by former solicitors general Neal Katyal and Paul Clement. In trying to put the question of who is a natural-born citizen to rest, however, the authors misunderstand, misapply and ignore the relevant law.

snip

[honest.abe]

12. I know its a long shot but who knows!!

That would be so sweet to get rid of Cruz and add another D to the Senate.

[broiles]

14. Great news!

Even though he's not in my district I've been donating to his campaign. He sends emails, not asking for donations but discussing issues and stating his positions.

[DJ Porkchop]

16. Texas needs more congressmen and women like Allred

Read his proposed legislation on uncovering hidden campaign funds in shell companies!
https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/118/hr988

All in for Allred!

[onetexan]

17. Yay!!

i hope he calls out cancun cruz for his plotting to overturn the 2020 election results

[Liberal In Texas]

18. He's my congressman and a good man.

Just got gerrymandered into his district, and glad of it.

I get nervous these days because after Beto losing to both Cruz and Abbott that this state can't seem to elect decent people in the higher offices anymore.

One problem has been the avalanche of money that Democrats have to overcome in any race in this state.

Now we're going to have to find someone a good as him to run for his congressional seat.

[bottomofthehill]

19. As usual, I will be the skunk at the garden party.

He is a great loss to the House and I fear it is a Suicide run for the Senate. Much like Val Demings was a loss to the House. He is young black leadership, an elections lawyer and a person of consequence. His voice will be missed. Texas has been ready to turn for too long. It’s a Presidential year, I hope I am wrong, but we lose too much young leadership.

[Celerity]

24. At least his district is now (post 2020 census-based redistricting) far more Blue than it was

[bottomofthehill]

20. As usual, I will be the skunk at the garden party.

He is a great loss to the House and I fear it is a Suicide run for the Senate. Much like Val Demings was a loss to the House. He is young black leadership, an elections lawyer and a person of consequence. His voice will be missed. Texas has been ready to turn for too long. It’s a Presidential year, I hope I am wrong, but we lose too much young leadership.

[UTUSN]

38. That's the rationale that has kept top notch Dems from running for things, like how Sherrod

kept from running for prez because we couldn't afford to lose his Ohio seat.

[Celerity]

23. I wonder if this will affect Scott Kelly (Mark Kelly from AZ's twin brother & fellow astronaut), who

was thinking about running against Cruz as well.

[Celerity]

26. mamy other Democratic names potentially in the mix too

Publicly expressed interest

Roland Gutierrez, state senator from the 19th district (2021–present)

Potential

Greg Casar, U.S. Representative for Texas's 35th congressional district (2023–present)

Joaquin Castro, U.S. Representative for Texas's 20th congressional district (2013–present)

Julián Castro, former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (2014–2017), former mayor of San Antonio (2009–2014), and candidate for President of the United States in 2020

Jasmine Crockett, U.S. Representative for Texas's 30th congressional district (2023–present)

Mark Cuban, investor and owner of the Dallas Mavericks and 2929 Entertainment

Wendy Davis, former state senator from the 10th district (2009–2015), nominee for Governor of Texas in 2014, and nominee for Texas's 21st congressional district in 2020

Veronica Escobar, U.S. Representative for Texas's 17th congressional district (2019–present)

Lizzie Fletcher, U.S. Representative for Texas's 7th congressional district (2019–present)

Tory Gavito, political strategy firm founder

MJ Hegar, business consultant, nominee for U.S. Senate in 2020, and nominee for Texas's 31st congressional district in 2018

Lina Hidalgo, Harris County Judge (2019–present)

Nathan Johnson, state senator from the 16th district (2019–present)

Scott Kelly, retired NASA astronaut and brother of Arizona Senator Mark Kelly

Eva Longoria, actress and producer

Beto O'Rourke, former U.S. Representative for Texas's 16th congressional district (2013–2019), nominee for U.S. Senate in 2018, nominee for Governor of Texas in 2022, and candidate for President of the United States in 2020

Gregg Popovich, head coach for the San Antonio Spurs

Michael Sorrell, president of Paul Quinn College (2007–present)

James Talarico, state representative from the 50th district (2019–present)

Michelle Tremillo, political organizing executive

Sylvester Turner, mayor of Houston (2016–present) and former state representative from the 139th district (1989–2016)

Ricky Williams, former professional football player

[UTUSN]

39. Please not the CASTROs or Mark CUBAN. Perhaps ALL can run together as one

class action candidate.

[Celerity]

40. My two preferred candiates are Scott Kelly and Allred. My main concern with Allred is an unfortunate

question that needs to be asked (and one that enrages me as a mutiracial black person, same as Allred):

that question

Is Texas too racist to elect a black man (racially mixed or not) to the US Senate?

[UTUSN]

41. His resume in the OP sounds fantastic to me, stronger than Beto and Wendy. As for the question

The actual voters probably are too racist, won't vote for ANY Dem ever. if the candidate has charisma and has the common touch, these are the keys to make the usual non-voters ACTUALLY TURN OUT.

[republianmushroom]

36. like it

[LetMyPeopleVote]

37. Its official-Colin Allred is running to replace Carnival Cruz

Link to tweet

[kentuck]

42. Allred's a true American.

Unlike Ted Cruz.