BREAKING: Major announcement in Texas Senate race

I'm joined now by Colin Alred. Thanks so. much for joining me. >> Yeah, thanks for having me. Really. appreciate it. >> So, you've made some news today with the. announcement that you are no longer. running for the US Senate in Texas, but. you've made another announcement here. So, can you explain what that is? >> Yeah. Uh well, you know, listen, I I. felt like over the course of this. campaign, nothing really moved me more. uh than the trust that, you know, Texans. had placed in me and and the stories. that I'd heard and the people who would. come up to me and, you know, tell me. their life story when they were just.

first meeting me and and, you know, oftentimes end up in tears. And I. thought about them uh thinking that you. know a long bruising Democratic primary. that in Texas because if you don't get. over 50% of the vote you have to go to a. runoff that then having a runoff that. that would not be in the interest of the. party or of the state in a year when you. Donald Trump uh is every day you know. shredding the constitution uh when folks. are struggling and they're scared out. there. To me dividing up the party in. that way was not uh something that was.

going to be useful. And I thought I had. a responsibility to be the one to say. this this is not the road that we should. go down. But what I can do is serve in a. different way. I can run for Congress in. this newly drawn, gerrymandered, racially gerrymandered district in. Dallas. I I wish the district did not. exist quite honestly in terms of the. fact that this court case was allowed to. to go ahead and to say that, you know, when Trump demanded five new districts. that the state would give it to him. But. since we are here, we need strong voices. in the Congress to stand up to Trump, to.

speak about what's going on, you know, for folks who are struggling with an. affordability crisis all around our. state. Uh to deal with the rampant. corruption that I think is eating away. at the faith people have in our in our. institutions. So, there's a lot to do. Uh and I'm I'm, you know, proud to have. the chance to try and represent my. hometown again in Congress. So, I want. to talk about your your uh your house. run in just a moment, but you had. mentioned the prospect of a long and. bruising uh uh runoff or primary into. into runoff. To what extent does the pro.

prospect of Jasmine Crockett entering. into the uh into the primary here? Um. did that play a role in all of this? >> Yeah, of course. And you know, I think. it's both that Jasmine is a friend of. mine as well, but also the fact that. having, you know, three, you know, strong candidates running would you. virtually guarantee a runoff. And, you. know, I I know a bit about this and I. know what it's going to take. Yeah. >> Uh for us to try and flip uh you know, a. state that we haven't won uh you know, in over 30 years in terms of a Senate.

race. And to me, the most responsible. thing that I could do for the state. would be to say, how can I best serve in. this situation? I've always tried to put. public service first. I've never made it. about myself. I think my humility is is, you know, one of the traits that has. often, you know, led me uh, you know, down some of the right paths that I've. gone down in my life. Uh, and to say, well, what what way can I serve it that. that might look a little different? And. so that's why I decided you to run for. this newly drawn district. uh and to.

say, you know, to everyone in the party, you know, let's let's get serious about. this and let's make sure that we try and. go into November united. >> Will you be endorsing in the US Senate. race? >> Right now, I'm focused on, you know, this race and trying to make sure that. folks know, you know, what I'm doing, why I'm doing it, and I'll, you know, certainly have some things to say down. the road. Uh, but I can say, you know, with, you know, full clarity that, you. know, Jasmine's a friend of mine. We. serve together in Congress. We in the. Congressional Black Caucus together. I. know her well. I've known her since. before uh we ever ran for office. Um and.

so I have, you know, respect for her and. and hope uh that whoever emerges uh that. we can get behind them. >> Now, in terms of your race, I want to. talk about the prospect of Latino voters. for just a moment because I think the. way that these maps were gerrymandered. was by Republicans taking into account. or or assuming, I should say, that the. Latino voters that swung to Republicans. in 2024 were a permanent part of their. coalition. And we saw in New Jersey, for. example, that that Latino voters was.

were swinging not just a few points to. the left like the rest of the. population, but in some instances 20, 30, 40 points to the left. And so, how. are you thinking about um Latino voters. in your own race in Texas's 33rd. congressional district? >> Listen, I think Latino voters are, you. know, incredibly important in any race. in Texas, certainly in my congressional. race, also statewide. And from what I've. seen, you know, going all around the. state and talking, you know, to Latinos, uh, whether it's a, you know, in every. setting in high school football games. and grocery stores, is that just like.

every Texan I talk to, they are deeply. concerned about the fact that they feel. like they're working harder and harder. for less. And we have to be, I think, you very clear as a party, uh, that we. need to reconnect with working people, period. And that part of that is. certainly saying to folks, we see you. We hear you. We know you're working hard. and doing all the right things. And we. know that you're not seeing that show up. in your in your bank account or also. just in the way that you feel that. you're able to get ahead. And that. you're seeing folks on TV, on your.

phones, who are openly corrupt, who are. cutting corners, and who are targeting. people and they're the ones who are. doing well while you're not. And that to. me is what we have to to to speak to, have policies to address. And I think. that will help us with Latino voters, of. course, but also just working-class. voters across our state who I think are. dying for somebody who will say to them, "I see you. I have ideas on how we can. make things work for you. I know you. don't expect everything to be given to. you. You're going to work hard for it, and here's how I can help you.". >> Now, you're you're running in in a. district that doesn't exist otherwise.

It was newly drawn by Republicans. expressly so that they can gerrymander. the state. And so, what is what is the. the partisan breakdown of this state? And then as a followup to that question, you know, there are going to be a lot of. Democrats running across the country in. highly competitive districts. And so. what do you say given folks limited. resources so that they know it's. important to focus on this race above, you know, the some of the races that are. separated normally historically by a. point. >> Yeah, of course. And you what they've.

done in Texas is outrageous. And folks. should know this. I mean, we we had a a. you ruling by a three judge panel that. said that these districts that they drew. were racially uh gerrymandered in a way. that violated the constitution. And it. was written by a Trump appointee uh who, you know, otherwise conservative judge. who joined an Obama appointee to say. this is this is unacceptable. And the. Supreme Court stepped in just recently. and said actually it is okay. And so. we're we're going from having, you know, 13 members of Democratic members of.

Congress representing our state to. potentially down to eight. Uh and that's. for a state, you know, with uh you know, 30 million people with, you know, millions of folks who are looking to. have representation. And so those folks. who are left after this ridiculous. racial gerrymandering that they've done. here have to be strong. And those voices. are going to become even more important. my responsibility is going to be to. instead of being, you know, basically. one of three members of Cong Democratic. members of Congress representing Dallas. to be basically the only one. Uh, and so.

my [clears throat] I will have to be a. voice for all the folks here who have. been locked out of this process by this. gerrymandering. And so it's important. that we send folks to the Congress in. this time who will be a part of the. solution, but go in on day one with. ideas on how we're going to fight back. against Donald Trump and what they're. doing, but also to say that we know what. we need to do to prevent jerrymandering. like this from ever happening again. As. a former voting rights lawyer, I know. exactly what we can do when we have the. power to make sure that we end the. practice of doing stuff like this. You.

know, there is a world where section two. of the Voting Rights Act is gutted uh by. the US Supreme Court and that can that. decision could be returned as early as. January depending on how heavy-handed. the Supreme Court wants to be in. allowing or giving a permission. structure for Republican states to. redraw their maps in advance of the 2026. election. And so that process is. obviously going to benefit a lot of. Republican states. And so what's your. plan to to uh convince or persuade your. Republican colleagues to sign on to this.

effort to to stop the scourge of. gerrymandering uh given the fact that. they're the ones that are going to be. the beneficiaries of it? You know, that's that's a great. question. And I think that the thing. that's most frustrating to me as. somebody who, you know, worked at Voting. Rights as a career before I was in. office is the fact that the Voting. Rights Act itself was signed and then. reauthorized by President Bush, you. know, not that long ago with Republican. votes. >> and that we used to have a consensus.

around some of these things that we. should have certain protections on the. right to vote, but that now that's. become largely a partisan issue. I will. say that I think that in terms of the. overall redistricting wars going on. around the country, which I am just sick. about, that it's not exactly a clean win. for Republicans. And as you said, some. of what they're relying on here in Texas. in this upcoming election is that. they'll continue to get the votes that. they got from Latinos that Donald Trump. got in 2024. And I don't think that's. going to happen. >> Yeah. >> And so I think there's a double-edged. sword here when it comes to Jerry.

Mander. You can also do dummy mandering. >> Yeah. And that's how I got into Congress. in many ways is that in 2018, uh, they. had gerrymandered the state and the guy. who I was running against was in a seat. they had drawn for him, but they got a. little too greedy and tried to squeeze. another couple districts out. And so it. put his district as being a little more. viable. And so then I was able to beat. him and you know, and so that's what can. happen when you see these jaring. managers last. And so there may be some. room to try and you do that. But I think.

what we have to do is present to the. American people the fact that nobody. nobody likes it when politicians are. picking their voters. Everybody thinks. that voters should pick their. politicians. Like this is not a. everywhere I I go, even Republicans I. talk to think that's this is outrageous, right? And so I think we have to speak. very clearly about that and say if you. think this system is rigged, it's. because it is and here's how we're going. to unrig it. And finally, you know, in. your in your um you know, travels across. the state, to what extent do you think. that folks who have voted for.

Republicans, voted for Trump, or or who. have refused to vote for Democrats in. these last few elections, to what extent. do you think that they're getable in. this election cycle given kind of the. con that's been given up by this. Republican party? I mean, the the idea. that this guy and his party ran as. populists, that they were going to lower. the cost of housing, of rent, of. groceries, of eggs, and now they've. presided over with full control of. government, so there's no Democrats to. blame, presided over the rising cost of. everything, over the gutting of. healthcare, gutting of food assistance.

We're going to see ACA subsidies get. eliminated, which means healthcare for. 24 million Americans is about to get 2, three, four, five times more expensive. And that's not at all what these people. ran on. Meanwhile, during all of this, you've got Donald Trump en enshrining. the Oval Office in gold, buying himself. jets, buying Christine jets, hosting. crypto dinners, doing let them eat cake. parties at Mara Lago. And so, to what. extent do you think that people. recognize that and that is going to. supersede their otherwise partisan.

affiliation to the GOP? Yeah, I know. some people are have kind of the opinion. and I'll hear people say this from time. to time that, you know, nothing matters. and whatever Trump does, people aren't. paying attention and I just could not. disagree more. I mean, I I talked I. spent this, you know, campaign going to. people where they were, you know, on. construction sites, in grocery stores, in restaurants, working with them. And. I'm telling you, folks see this. >> Yeah. >> And they know it. And they know that. they're working hard and they feel like.

they're getting less. and they see some. of these jackasses who are openly. corrupt, who are just kind of waving it. in front of them and saying, "What are. you gonna do about it?" Right? And I. think what we have to be is that party. that steps into that void and says, "Listen, whatever you think about the Democratic. party previously, this is outrageous. We. know this is a rigged system and here's. what we're going to do to unrig it. Not. just against the Republicans, but also. so you don't think that Democrats are. rigging it for ourselves either. That. we're going to fix this for you.". >> Yeah. And that's the the kind of. disconnect that I've seen at times is.

that we can sometimes get too locked up. in, you know, kind of the white paper. world and and policy world. And listen, I'm I'm I'm a policy nerd, too. I can go. all day on those things. But we have to. speak to those the emotion that people. feel. And I think there is a real. opportunity here in Texas in this. election to do that and to say to. people, you were lied to. You were. betrayed. You were promised, like you. said, that costs were going to go down. and they have skyrocketed. And at the. same time, they're pocketing more than. ever. and here's what we're going to do. to fix it. We have to have fighters who.

can, you know, deliver that message at. every single level. And so, you know, Brian, I want to thank you for, you. know, having me on. I hope that folks, you can go to colonred.com and get. involved with us because, you know, we. we really do have an opportunity to do. something special here in Texas. And. what I'm trying to do is make sure we do. that both in my congressional district, but also help the Senate campaign move. forward to do it. >> And I'm going to put that link uh in the. post description of this video. I also. have one last question that doesn't have. to do with the campaign here. Uh, and. that is you played for the Tennessee. Titans in in a past life. Um, Tennessee.

Titans uh are are currently, I believe, last place in the AFC. Is that correct? >> I just won a game yesterday. Yeah, that's right. >> Just just won a game yesterday. And and. that was actually good news for me. because my team, the New York Giants, is. now the worst team in football. And so. my question is this. If you have teams. that are this bad where there's no way. that you can, you know, you're. eliminated from the playoffs, you're. you're just in the in the throws of. humiliation because uh you know, because. your your season's shot anyway, you're. at 2 and 11.

>> If you're looking at the draft for next. year, how how does it work? Like, [laughter] how does it work? Because. obviously you don't want to throw games, but at the same time, you also have a. number one draft pick waiting for you at. the other end of this. And so I'm just. curious what the mindset is for guys who. are so competitive that they want to go. out there and leave it all on the field. every single week. But at the same time, if you win and you become instead of 2. and 11 or 2 and 12 or 2 and 13, now. you're 3 and 11 or 3 and 12, like that. doesn't get you anything. And so just.

just walk me through that a little bit. now that now that both teams that that. you and I have some association with are. at the bottom of the ladder here. Yeah, I mean football is a different sport. when it comes to tanking because you can. get hurt in any play, right? And so. football players don't like it when even. if they're on a bad team, people think. that, oh, we just go ahead and lose. because it's like, hey, listen, this. could be my last game, buddy. Like, I. don't know what's going to happen. I'm. running down the field. I'm going to run. high speed into another really big guy.

I don't know what might break, you know? And so I think that for the players. themselves, the idea of tanking is. always hard. But for organizations, that's where they have to then say, "Okay, we're not viable right now. We. should probably trade away, you know, some of the players that we have that. are have that could be assets for the. future in terms of draft picks and take. it out of the players hands and let. those players play hard because they're. fighting for their career. Most of those. guys from a week- toeek basis are hoping.

just they can get another year. Yeah, there's only, you know, small percentage. that know that they're going to have. guaranteed roles in the year to come, >> right? And so every year there's going. to be so much turnover on a football. roster at the bottom kind of 20 uh of. the 53man roster. So those 20 guys, they're going to be playing as hard as. they can because they're playing not. just for their team, but for every team. watching. But for the organization, I'd. say, hey, think think long term. And I. see what the New York Jets did just for. example in in trading um you know a. couple of their best players for number.

one picks for number for second round. picks. They're well positioned to have. some great drafts coming up because of. that. I don't know if they'll take. advantage of it but they're in good. position. Right. And so that that to me. is as a player I'll be like don't tell. me to try and throw a lose a game so you. can get a draft pick next year. I might. not even be here. But if I'm the GM then. I'm thinking differently. >> Right. Right. Well, first of all, I can. say that uh if you think that the the. Jets the Jets may be well positioned, but that has never stopped them from. executing from from like losing from.

like losing that that well positioning. And uh and the second thing is I was at. the last game the the last game of the. season that the Giants won. I think it. was against the Colts last year where it. was all they had to do to secure their. number one draft spot was just lose one. more game and they beat the Colts and. every like me and everybody else in the. stadium was like the Giants can't even. lose correctly. >> Exactly. Exactly. I get that, man. I do. As a fan watching it from a distance. now, but if I was on that field, I'm. telling y'all to try to get that win, too, you know. >> Yeah. >> Uh well, I'm going to put the link to uh.

to your website right here on the. screen, also in the post description of. this video. Again, for folks watching, this is a district that hopefully. Republicans have drawn so thin out of. their greed that it is actually getable. And in an environment where we're seeing. uh these sweet these seats swing 12 13. 14 15 points to the left, everything is. suddenly on the table as it uh as it. wasn't before. So uh again that link is. right here on the screen and also in the. post description. Colin all red, thanks. so much for your time. Best of luck on. the campaign trail. >> Thank you. Appreciate it. [music].