{"id":90510,"date":"2025-12-16T21:51:14","date_gmt":"2025-12-16T21:51:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/90510\/"},"modified":"2025-12-16T21:51:14","modified_gmt":"2025-12-16T21:51:14","slug":"democrats-julie-johnson-and-colin-allred-throw-early-elbows-in-texas-district-33-primary-politics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/90510\/","title":{"rendered":"Democrats Julie Johnson and Colin Allred throw early elbows in Texas’ District 33 primary | Politics"},"content":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON \u2014 U.S. Rep. Julie Johnson<\/a> and former U.S. Rep. Colin Allred<\/a> aren\u2019t holding much back as they compete for the Democratic nomination in Congressional District 33, kicking off their campaigns with a flurry of rhetorical haymakers.<\/p>\n

Johnson says Allred blindsided everyone by switching races at the last minute<\/a> \u2014 and that Texas women can relate to having a man try to take back a position after failing to advance in his own career.<\/p>\n

Allred says he\u2019s shown he can deliver for the Dallas area and that Johnson is not entitled to represent a newly drawn, majority-minority district that needs an effective advocate who truly understands the community.<\/p>\n

The two have been sparring since filing day drama last week scrambled the party\u2019s primary landscape and thrust them into a head-to-head contest heavy with overtones of gender and race.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is going to be a primary election that lots of people will be watching for the show as well as for the result,\u201d said Cal Jillson, professor of political science at Southern Methodist University.<\/p>\n

Democrats have such a solid advantage in the newly drawn District 33 that whoever wins the primary will be heavily favored to win the general election and represent a key part of the Dallas area.<\/p>\n

Johnson is a freshman member of Congress, building her brand on Capitol Hill in an era of unified Republican control in Washington as Democrats are increasingly optimistic they can retake the House next year.<\/p>\n

Allred served three terms in the House before making an unsuccessful 2024 bid to unseat Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, losing by about 9 percentage points.<\/p>\n

He launched a campaign earlier this year for the seat held by Republican U.S. Sen. John Cornyn but abandoned it after Crockett jumped into that race last week.<\/p>\n

Johnson wasted no time opening up on Allred, denigrating his effectiveness during his time in Congress and saying he disappeared from the scene after losing to Cruz.<\/p>\n

After Allred\u2019s second Senate campaign stalled out this year, she said, he decided to backtrack and try to push her aside.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of women have had a similar experience where men vacate, women get promoted, the men don\u2019t succeed, and then they try to swoop back down and kick the women out of their spot,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cI can\u2019t even tell you the outpouring of support I\u2019ve had from women in this race.\u201d<\/p>\n

Allred said there is no incumbent in what is a brand-new district created by an illegitimate gerrymander designed not just to increase the Republican partisan advantage but also to restrict the voices of minority voters.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are losing representation from Black and brown voices across the state because of this racist gerrymander by President Trump that was intended to squeeze out more seats but particularly to target majority-minority districts,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of outrageous for anybody to think that they\u2019re entitled to any district anywhere, especially one that\u2019s not theirs, but particularly to a majority-minority one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Allred has advocated for what he describes as anticorruption measures, such as banning stock trading by members of Congress<\/a>. Johnson has made many trades during her first year on the job.<\/p>\n

Allred said he never traded stocks while serving in the House. Johnson\u2019s trades have proven financially lucrative for her, he said, even as Texans struggle to cover rent and put food on the table.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s outrageous that, in less than a year in Congress, Julie Johnson has traded stocks hundreds of times,\u201d Allred said. \u201cWhile people are going through an affordability crisis, she\u2019s making herself wealthier in office.\u201d<\/p>\n

Johnson said it\u2019s inaccurate to characterize her stock trades as some kind of windfall.<\/p>\n

She said she\u2019s getting her personal finances in line with legislation she\u2019s cosponsored that would ban stock trading by members of Congress. Unloading a portfolio by definition requires making stock trades, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have been divesting, liquidating and selling off all of my stock accounts to be in compliance with the stock trading ban,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n

The two traded shots during separately recorded appearances on Lone Star Politics, a political show produced by KXAS-TV (NBC 5) and The Dallas Morning News.<\/p>\n

The show airs 8:30 a.m. Sunday.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone knows I have been a strong champion for health care. I\u2019ve been able to pass legislation in the Texas Legislature, and I have offered multiple bills about improving access to health care here in the Congress, and Colin never did,\u201d Johnson said on the show.<\/p>\n

Allred dismissed Johnson\u2019s criticism when asked about it on the show. He called Johnson\u2019s stock trading \u201cgross\u201d and said it\u2019s made her \u201cfantastically wealthier,\u201d while many Americans are struggling.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately, Johnson has gotten right in there and decided that this is how she\u2019s going to approach serving the district that really needs her to be more focused on them, the underserved, rather than herself,\u201d Allred said on the show.<\/p>\n

Allred represented District 32 for three terms before passing on reelection to challenge Cruz. Johnson ran for the seat Allred left and touted his endorsement in her general election, sharing a quote in which he praised her \u201c dedication, vision & integrity<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Republicans redrew the districts this summer, stretching District 32 far into East Texas and turning it red.<\/p>\n

Johnson opted to file for District 33, which covers a significant portion of the current 32.<\/p>\n

Crockett announced on filing day she would run for Senate, setting off an atom bomb among Texas Democrats with fallout spread far and wide.<\/p>\n

Allred made his own abrupt switch to get out of the Senate race and run for District 33.<\/p>\n

He said he was leaving the Senate primary to Crockett and state Rep. James Talarico<\/a> of Austin because a three-way race would likely result in a costly runoff that would hurt the party\u2019s chances of flipping the seat in the general election.<\/p>\n

He and Johnson each said they know the district well and what it\u2019s looking for in its congressional representation.<\/p>\n

Allred said he lives one street over from the new District 33 line. He talks about being born and raised in Dallas by a single mother who worried about affording groceries on a public school teacher\u2019s salary.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a really diverse, heavily majority-minority district that is a place where I grew up, and so I know how to represent this area well,\u201d Allred said.<\/p>\n

Johnson, who lives in Farmers Branch, said she\u2019s about a half mile from the new District 33 line. She said she\u2019s lived in the Dallas area for decades.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been a small business owner in Dallas for 29 years,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019ve been rooted in that community. I\u2019ve lived in different parts of the city, just like many people do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Johnson was endorsed last week by the political arm of the center-left New Democrat Coalition<\/a>. More than half of House Democrats, including Johnson and half a dozen other Texans, are members.<\/p>\n

Johnson said the endorsement shows how her colleagues respect her work on the hill.<\/p>\n

She highlighted about $15 million in earmarks for North Texas she got included in recent spending bills and said she\u2019s introduced more bills than almost all of her freshman colleagues, proposals dealing with health care, housing access and other priorities.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are working hard,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cWe are being effective within the climate that I\u2019ve been given.\u201d<\/p>\n

She noted Republicans control the House, Senate and White House and questioned what Allred accomplished during his time in office.<\/p>\n

Allred said he\u2019s happy to debate his record, which he said included securing earmarks and grants that benefitted what is now District 33 in the areas of public transit, housing and other infrastructure.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve delivered $135 million in funding for this district alone,\u201d Allred said. \u201cI don\u2019t think she\u2019s delivered anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Allred upset some LGBTQ advocates during his race against Cruz with how he responded to Republican attacks.<\/p>\n

One ad criticized Allred for voting against House Resolution 734, the \u201c Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act<\/a>,\u201d which would bar school athletic programs from allowing individuals whose biological sex at birth was male to participate in programs for women or girls.<\/p>\n

In response, Allred said in an ad that \u201cI don\u2019t want boys playing girls\u2019 sports.\u201d<\/p>\n

That language prompted some advocates to call on him to clarify his position.<\/p>\n

Asked for comment on Allred\u2019s past statements and his current race against Johnson, the Human Rights Campaign provided a statement from President Kelley Robinson, expressing support for Johnson.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs the first out LGBTQ+ member in Congress from the South, Julie Johnson is a history maker who has dedicated her career in public service to making life better for Texans and giving them representation in the halls of power,\u201d Robinson said. \u201cShe is an important and needed voice in the House of Representatives who will continue the fight for equality and dignity for all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Allred said he has a long, consistent record of standing with Texas\u2019 LGBTQ community, including cosponsoring legislation to protect people\u2019s rights regardless of their sexual orientation or identity.<\/p>\n

Johnson said she and Allred have very different records on immigration and that voters are upset seeing what she described as the Trump administration\u2019s current assault on due process with its immigration enforcement operations.<\/p>\n

Allred defended his record on immigration, saying Dallas-area voters support secure border policies consistent with their values.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat has nothing to do with the ICE activity within the country that has been completely out of control and I think unconstitutional, and I\u2019ve spoken very clearly about that over the last few months,\u201d Allred said. \u201cI\u2019ve never hesitated to call out Trump\u2019s cruelty or what he\u2019s doing to tear apart families.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Staff writer Gromer Jeffers Jr. contributed to this report.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WASHINGTON \u2014 U.S. Rep. Julie Johnson and former U.S. Rep. Colin Allred aren\u2019t holding much back as they…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":90511,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[42650,288,116,118,117,1724,1183,287],"class_list":{"0":"post-90510","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fort-worth","8":"tag-ap_politics","9":"tag-elections","10":"tag-fort-worth","11":"tag-fort-worth-headlines","12":"tag-fort-worth-news","13":"tag-immigration","14":"tag-lgbtq","15":"tag-politics"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90510","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=90510"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90510\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/90511"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=90510"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=90510"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=90510"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}