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Texas state Sen. Roland Gutierrez, who has been one of the legislature’s most prominent gun safety activists since last year’s Robb Elementary massacre happened in his district, on Monday joined the Democratic primary to go up against GOP Sen. Ted Cruz in a state that Gutierrez’s party is hoping to put in play. Gutierrez’s declaration came about two months after Rep. Colin Allred entered the race to become Texas’ first Democratic U.S. senator since 1993. Allred recently disclosed he’d brought in $6.2 million for his opening fundraising quarter, though he hasn’t said yet how much money he had available at the end of June; Cruz himself has also yet to reveal his most recent fundraising numbers.
Gutierrez, who would be the first Latino Democrat to represent the Lone Star State in the upper chamber, was elected to the state House in 2008 and won a promotion in 2020 by unseating GOP state Sen. Pete Flores 50-47. The Democrat, who represents a San Antonio-based seat, took on statewide prominence after last year’s school shooting in Uvalde, saying in May, “There is a special place in hell for people who have this kind of problem staring them square in the face and have done nothing about it.”
Gutierrez echoed those themes in his kickoff, saying, “I’m a proud gun owner and believer in the Second Amendment, but after 19 children and two teachers died, the Republicans wouldn’t even allow us an opportunity to talk about ways to protect our kids.” He also used his video to knock Cruz’ infamous vacation to Cancun during the 2021 Texas freeze, something Allred highlighted as well in his May launch.
The state senator argued that his time in the legislature makes him a better option than Allred, a former NFL player and civil rights attorney who won office for the first time in 2018. “The fact is, I’ve done a heck of a lot more than he has in public service,” Gutierrez told WFAA, predicting, “I’ll outwork Colin Allred and I’ll work harder than Ted Cruz. I’m sure Colin’s a nice guy, but I’m gonna outwork him because that’s the way I was raised.”
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