Following Uvalde shooting, Democrat Roland Gutierrez becomes Ted Cruz’s latest challenger
By ACACIA CORONADO
Associated Press
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas has drawn another Democratic challenger in the 2024 U.S. Senate race. Democratic state Sen. Roland Gutierrez announced Monday that he will become the second Texas Democrat to embark on a longshot bid to deny Cruz a third term representing the nation’s biggest red state. Rep. Collin Allred became the first in May. Gutierrez was little known beyond his South Texas district before a gunman last year killed 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde. Gutierrez has made impassioned pleas for tougher gun laws and firings over police waiting more than an hour to confront the gunman.