Democrat Colin Allred is projected to win Texas’s 32nd District, handing Democrats a major victory in a changing district that narrowly rejected President Trump in 2016.
Allred, a former NFL player and civil rights lawyer, unseated Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas), a 22-year incumbent and powerful chairman of the House Rules Committee.
Democrats were eyeing the north Dallas district that went for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton by nearly 2 points in 2016 and has grown increasingly diverse over the years. Sessions didn’t face a Democratic opponent last election.
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It’s a big win for Democrats as they seek to make more inroads in Texas. Top Republicans and White House officials furiously campaigned and fundraised for Sessions to counteract Democratic attacks and money.
Allred zeroed in on health care, making pre-existing conditions protections a centerpiece of his campaign. He knocked Sessions for his support of the GOP’s efforts to repeal ObamaCare last year.
Sessions sought to defend himself on health care, touting a nonbinding resolution he introduced that’d protect coverage for individuals with pre-existing conditions. He largely focused his message on the GOP tax law and immigration, which had become a top midterm focus for Republicans.