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U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, a football player-turned-politician, is making history in the 32nd Congressional District in Texas. He has been praised for bipartisan work on issues ranging from infrastructure to health care. He was also the frontrunner among nine candidates challenging Senator Ted Cruz, infamously known for reading “Green Eggs and Ham” during a 21-hour filibuster. The San Antonio Express-News, which endorsed Allred (along with the Houston Chronicle), described him as “solid, smart and dedicated to his responsibilities as a public servant.” A former linebacker for the Tennessee Titans, Allred played in the NFL for nearly four years until injuries led him back to earlier goals. He obtained his law degree from the University of California, Berkeley in 2014 and began working as a civil rights attorney. In 2018, he ran for Congress, breaking a Republican’s 22-year streak in the seat. Allred was reelected in 2020 and won a third term in his battleground district in 2022. Allred is a trendsetter in politics, too, as the first member of Congress to take paternity leave.