Texas Sen. Roland Gutierrez announces bid to unseat incumbent Ted Cruz for U.S. Senate

Tony Plohetski, Austin American-Statesman
Updated

State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, a San Antonio Democrat who became an outspoken advocate for gun reform after the mass school shooting in Uvalde last year, announced Monday that he is running for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate to challenge incumbent Republican Sen. Ted Cruz.

State Sen. Roland Gutierrez of San Antonio is the second Democrat to enter the U.S. Senate race.
State Sen. Roland Gutierrez of San Antonio is the second Democrat to enter the U.S. Senate race.

Gutierrez, the son of Mexican immigrants, whose South Texas district stretches from San Antonio to the Rio Grande and includes Uvalde, announced his candidacy in a video posted to social media in English and Spanish.

In the nearly four-minute video, Gutierrez discussed the impact the May 24, 2022, shooting at Robb Elementary had on his decision to seek higher office. The shooting left 19 children and two teachers dead.

More: How a false tale of police heroism in Uvalde spread and unraveled

"The people of Uvalde became more than constituents," he said. "They became family. We joined together to demand change, but we saw firsthand how our leaders only cared about maintaining power. ... It's why we have to do something now."

After the Uvalde mass shooting, state Sen. Roland Gutierrez's constituents became family, he said, adding, "We joined together to demand change, but we saw firsthand how our leaders only cared about maintaining power."
After the Uvalde mass shooting, state Sen. Roland Gutierrez's constituents became family, he said, adding, "We joined together to demand change, but we saw firsthand how our leaders only cared about maintaining power."

He said the shooting also underscored the neglect of the state's rural areas.

"Everything we have seen in this state has been nothing but taking care of rich people, while the poor people, the working class, gets screwed over," he said.

Gutierrez also called Cruz's decision to travel to Cancún, Mexico, during the historic 2021 winter storm, when millions of Texans were without power, "indefensible." Hundreds died during the storm.

More: While Texas froze amid power crises, Sen. Ted Cruz traveled to Mexico for family vacation

State Sen. Roland Gutierrez speaks at a press conference alongside relatives of Uvalde shooting victims as they call for gun law reform at the Capitol in May. He championed several gun measures in the legislative session, but none of them passed.
State Sen. Roland Gutierrez speaks at a press conference alongside relatives of Uvalde shooting victims as they call for gun law reform at the Capitol in May. He championed several gun measures in the legislative session, but none of them passed.

Gutierrez joins U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, a Democrat from North Texas, in the race for the party's Senate nomination.

Allred became the first to enter the race in May. He says his campaign has since raised more than $6 million. It sets up a rare competitive Democratic primary in a major race in Texas, where Republican dominance has often discouraged bigger-name Democrats from running statewide. No Democrat has won a statewide office in Texas in nearly 30 years.

“Texans will now get to watch Colin Allred and Roland Gutierrez slug it out for who can be the most radical leftist in the state," Nick Maddux, Cruz's spokesman, said in a statement Monday.

Cruz, who was first elected to the Senate in 2012, won reelection to a second term by a narrow margin in 2018 when he was challenged by Beto O'Rourke, a former Democratic U.S. representative from El Paso.

Gutierrez served in the Texas House from 2008 to 2021, when he was elected to the state Senate. He has also served on the San Antonio City Council and works as an attorney focusing on immigration law.

Additional material from The Associated Press.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: State Sen. Roland Gutierrez running as Democrat against Sen. Ted Cruz

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