Who is Congressman Colin Allred and what is his platform?

DALLAS — U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, D-Dallas, will meet incumbent Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, on Tuesday night in their only debate before the Nov. 5 election on WFAA.

The Texas Debate will be at 7 p.m. Oct. 15 at WFAA’s studio and broadcast across Texas. It will be the only debate between Cruz and Allred.

The debate will air on WFAA and be livestreamed on the WFAA+ app. The streaming app is available to download on Roku, Apple TV and Amazon Fire, as well as on iPhone and Android. Coverage will start on WFAA+ at 3 p.m. Oct. 15.

Polls have shown it to be a tight race, with one poll by the Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation showing the two virtually tied.

Before the debate, here’s a look at the Dallas congressman and what his platform is.

Allred, 41, was born and raised in Dallas by a single mom, who was a public school teacher. He attended Hillcrest High School in North Dallas, where he was elected class president. After high school, Allred attended Baylor University in Waco on a football scholarship, where he graduated with a degree in history.

He deferred his law school acceptance to play in the NFL. He was a linebacker for the Tennessee Titans for five seasons before sustaining a career-ending injury.

Allred attended law school at University of California Berkeley School of Law and worked as a civil rights attorney. He served in the Obama Administration in the General Counsel’s Office at the Department of Housing and Urban Development before he ran for Congress in Texas 32nd District, encompassing parts of Dallas, Collin and Denton counties. Allred defeated 22-year Republican incumbent Pete Sessions to win that race in 2018, one of the most competitive races in Texas at the time and a major blow to Republicans’ failed attempt to keep control of the house that year. He won re-election in 2020 and a third term in 2022. He bested a field of nine candidates in a Democratic primary to challenge Cruz for his Senate seat.

Allred has touted bipartisan bona fides and willingness to work across the aisle on the campaign trail, including on issues of border security. Like other Democrats nationally, though, Allred has also touted his support for abortion rights, accusing Cruz of trying to avoid talking about Texas’ abortion ban. Cruz, meanwhile, has needled Allred for keeping his distance from Democratic party standard bearers, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

On his campaign website, Allred calls for investing in public schools, lowering the cost of childcare and universal pre-K, as well as expanding access to community college and raising teacher pay.

Allred has prodded Cruz over his support for school vouchers, which Cruz argues provide families with other options aside from public schools for students, but critics argue would hurt public schools.

Allred’s campaign website says he supports “responsible” oil and gas production. Allred worked to help secure $25 million for Texas to plug 800 orphan wells, according to his campaign website.

“Colin knows that to continue our status as the number one energy producing state, Texas can and should lead on renewable and clean energy,” his campaign website reads. “It’s clear there will be an economic competition to lead the clean energy future, and Colin knows that if we’re going to keep these jobs in Texas, we have to make the investments necessary to beat China and lead the world.”

Earlier this year, Allred voted against a bill that would repeal the requirement for the federal government to update energy efficient standards for appliances and touted support for the Solar for All Grant competition, in which Texas will receive nearly $250 million in grants for residential solar energy projects.

Last year, Allred voted against an energy and permitting reform bill, which aimed to streamline permitting rules for energy projects. In 2019, Allred voted for a bill that sought to require the Trump administration to remain in the Paris Climate Accord, establish new goals to reduce emissions and develop a plan for the U.S. to meet climate goals.

Allred has been vocal about his support for abortion access since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022 after which point abortion became illegal in Texas in most cases.

Allred co-sponsored a bill that sought to codify abortion protections and a bill that sought to codify protections for traveling out-of-state to receive healthcare.

Allred voted for a bill that would have provided Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients, so called “Dreamers,” temporary protected status holders and people with deferred enforcement departure with protections from deportation and a l to pathway to permanent legal status.

This year, he introduced a bill to expand the Segal AmeriCorps Education Award to DACA recipients and a bill to conduct an assessment of staffing needs at the U.S. southern border.

This will be Allred’s fourth election, having won his last three elections for his seat in Congress.

Allred beat longtime Republican incumbent Pete Sessions 52-46% in an upset.

Allred beat Republican challenger Genevieve Collins 52-46%.

Allred beat Republican challenger Antonio Swad 65-35%.