Colin Allred defeated U.S. Rep. Julie Johnson in Tuesday’s Democratic primary runoff for Texas’ 33rd Congressional District, ending a rare intraparty contest between a former North Texas congressman and the lawmaker who succeeded him.
Allred received 11,307 votes, or 53.92%, while Johnson received 9,663 votes, or 46.08%, according to unofficial results from the Texas Secretary of State’s Office. All polling locations had reported as of Wednesday morning.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Allred dropped out of the U.S. Senate race in December and filed to run for the newly drawn Congressional District 33, setting up what became a runoff fight with Democratic Rep. Julie Johnson, who succeeded Allred in Congress after he left his former House seat to run for Senate.
The runoff followed a redistricting shakeup that pushed two well-known Dallas-area Democrats into the same race.
Johnson currently represents Texas’ 32nd Congressional District, which was redrawn to become more favorable to Republicans, while the newly drawn 33rd District remained one of the Dallas area’s Democratic-leaning seats.
Allred previously represented Texas’ 32nd Congressional District before leaving the seat to run unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate in 2024. Johnson won the seat after Allred’s departure and was elected to Congress in November 2024.
The 33rd District contest drew attention because it pitted Johnson against her predecessor, with Allred seeking a return to Congress after stepping out of the 2026 U.S. Senate race.
Allred will face Republican nominee Patrick David Gillespie in the November general election. Gillespie defeated John Sims in the Republican runoff, 5,002 votes to 3,757 votes, according to the Secretary of State’s Office.
The Cook Political Report rates the 33rd Congressional District as “Solid D,” with a Democratic Partisan Voting Index of D+18.
Texas’ general election is scheduled for November 3.
