This Tuesday, November 5 is Election Day across the country and no one knows that better than NFL alum Colin Allred.
The 43-year old Allred announced his candidacy in May, 2023 to unseat Republican incumbent Ted Cruz for the U.S. Senate in the Lone Star State. It has been an uphill battle for Allred, just as it was six years ago when he upset an 11-term Republican incumbent for a seat representing Texas as a Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives.
“What we’ve been focused on from the very beginning,” Allred explains, “is trying to run a campaign that can be for everyone in Texas. It’s a reflection of how I want to serve, which is for all 30 million of us Texans.”
Allred played collegiately at Baylor and was signed by the Titans as an undrafted rookie free agent in 2006. He played five seasons in Nashville as a linebacker and special team standout. After he left the NFL, he earned a law degree at Cal-Berkeley and then began working in the Obama administration.
While Allred and two term Utah Congressman Burgess Owens (Jets, Raiders; 1973-82) are the only alumni running for Congress this cycle, there has been a small roster of NFL players-turned-politicians in the House in this century. That list includes:
- Colin Allred (D.-TX) U.S. House of Representatives 2019-current
- Burgess Owens (R.-UT) U.S. House of Representatives 2021-current
- Anthony Gonzalez (R.-OH) U.S. House of Representatives 2019-2023
- Jon Runyan (R.-NJ) U.S. House of Representative 2011-2015
- Heath Shuler (D.-NC) U.S. House of Representatives 2007-2013
- Steve Largent (R.-OK) U.S. House of Representatives 1994-2002
We at NFL Alumni remind you to vote in this year’s election. Alumni CEO Brad Edwards appears in this “Get Out & Vote” video message which has been viewed widely on social media in recent weeks (see here).
