Dallas Democrat Colin Allred easily beat Republican Genevieve Collins to retain the 32nd District seat in Congress.
“This is a victory for North Texas and everyone who believes that if we put our values first, and work hard to deliver results, anything is possible,” Allred told supporters.
Allred, 37, who in 2018 beat longtime Republican Rep. Pete Sessions to win the seat, campaigned on a non-partisan approach to representing the district, which includes swaths of northern and eastern Dallas County. He touted his role in landing a Veterans Administration medical center in Garland as evidence of his collaborative approach. And he promised to help lead the district out of the coronavirus pandemic, improve the Affordable Care Act and maintain North Texas as an economic engine for the region and state.
He said his primary focus for the next term was clear.
“It will be a long and hard fight to beat this virus. But when Americans work together, we can overcome anything and do great things for this nation,” he said. “The hard work starts now and we must begin the process of healing and rebuilding our institutions.”
Collins, 34, argued that Allred is a partisan Democrat under the control of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and the VA medical center in Garland was an example of Allred taking credit for the work of others.
The senior vice president for corporate strategy for Istation, her family’s education tech company, Collins said she would bring a pro-business approach to leading the district.
“We need less government in business and more business in government,” she often said.
But her argument was somewhat muted by Allred’s endorsements, which include the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. He is also praised by members of the Dallas Regional Chamber.
The coronavirus pandemic impacted the ability of both candidates to conduct in-person campaigning. The race got testy at the end, with Collins hurling misleading statements at Allred, including claiming that he voted to “defund” the police. In reality, Allred voted on a House package that would have provided $600 million for law enforcement. That proposal was blocked by the Republican-controlled Senate and the two sides compromised on a lesser number.
During a virtual debate, Allred accused Collins of darkening his skin in images of him on her campaign mailers. Those images featured a photo-shopped picture of Allred holding a microphone in front of looters and burning property.
Collins also had trouble separating herself from President Donald Trump. In 2016 Hillary Clinton narrowly won the district. Two years later Allred beat Sessions by nearly seven percentage points.
The Republican said that voters were turned off by Trump’s behavior, but liked his policies. Allred tried to tie her to Trump’s efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act. But Collins insisted that she would not try to repeal the health care law, but improve it.
Collins' had a health scare in the final weeks of the campaign. She was hospitalized twice—once for an emergency appendectomy and then for complications from the surgery.
