Texas State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, D-San Antonio, recently entered his name into the 2024 Texas Democratic primary for the United States Senate, calling out incumbent Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, for “taking care of rich people” and ignoring the working class.
Gutierrez launched his campaign by releasing a video that shows him traveling to Uvalde, Texas where the fatal Robb Elementary School mass shooting occurred more than a year ago.
“I’m running against Ted Cruz because everything that we’ve seen in this state has been nothing but taking care of rich people while the poor people, the working class, get screwed over,” Gutierrez said in the video.
Gutierrez will face U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, from Dallas, who announced his candidacy in May, according to a KXAN report. Allred, a former NFL player, has raised over $6 million in campaign donations.
Gutierrez became well-known in the aftermath of the Robb Elementary School tragedy, calling for law enforcement accountability and stricter gun laws, KXAN reported. About a week after the incident that claimed the lives of 19 students and two teachers Gutierrez stood up during the question-and-answer portion of Gov. Greg Abbott’s press conference and demanded the governor hold a special session, according to the Austin Journal.
Gutierrez, a member of the Texas Legislature since 2008, scored a win earlier this year when a Texas House of Representatives committee voted in favor of a bill to raise the legal age to purchase semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21, according to The Texas Tribune. However, the legislation. House Bill 2744, failed to get on the floor of the lower chamber in time for a vote.
