The 33rd Congressional District is a victim of last summer’s divisive GOP-driven, mid-decennial congressional redistricting. The old district was split between Tarrant and Dallas counties. Now it lies entirely within Dallas County, pitting one incumbent and one former member of Congress against each another.
Four Democrats in total filed to run in the primary for the new 33rd Congressional District. Attorneys Colin Allred and Julie Johnson have experience representing the 32nd Congressional District, which before the recent redistricting fell mostly in northern Dallas County. Allred represented it from 2019 to 2025, and Johnson holds that seat now. The district was redrawn last summer to favor Republicans instead of Democrats.
The two other candidates in the primary are community activist Carlos Quintanilla, who has run for the seat previously, and technology executive and attorney Zeeshan Hafeez.
Voters in the district are fortunate: Both Allred and Johnson are well-qualified and have solid track records as legislators. We recommend Allred because he seems better equipped to address this era’s poisonous mix of political cynicism and economic anxiety.
Opinion
He wants to tighten ethics rules. He said he would promote legislation that prohibits members of Congress and their close relatives from trading individual stocks while in office. This practice makes average Americans wonder whether their representatives are profiting off of insider knowledge, or worse, shaping public policy to benefit their investments. It feeds distrust.
Allred also said he does not accept contributions from corporate political action committees and would like to ban all federal candidates from accepting them. Last, he wants all organizations that try to influence elections with ads and mailers to be required to more clearly disclose their funders.
While in Congress, Allred worked to transform a vacant hospital in Garland into a Veterans Affairs medical center. It was a win-win that showed how federal investments can improve local communities.
All four candidates said the cost of living is a major source of stress to voters. Allred would work to expand the existing Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program and to establish a $50,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers.
The candidates also decried federal immigration and Border Patrol agents’ actions in Minnesota. Johnson is among the House Democrats who want to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
Allred joined the race after withdrawing from the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate. Johnson, meanwhile, has received dozens of endorsements and worked to earn votes in neighborhoods she hasn’t previously represented. This race could result in a runoff. If Allred wants a place in it, he will have to sprint from now until election day.
This editorial is part of the Dallas Morning News Editorial Board’s slate of recommendations for the 2026 primary. Find the full project here.
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