Andy Beshear Podcast
Episode: “Colin Allred, ICE and Doing the Right Thing When It’s Hard”
Released: January 15, 2026
Host: Andy Beshear
Guest: Colin Allred, former U.S. Congressman, civil rights attorney, and NFL linebacker
Episode Overview
This episode of the Andy Beshear Podcast continues the “Primed for 2026” season, spotlighting key Democratic primary candidates nationwide. Today’s guest is Colin Allred—a former Congressman from Texas and NFL linebacker—who is now running for Texas’s newly redrawn 33rd district. The conversation explores Colin’s journey from athletics to public service, voting rights, gerrymandering, corporate money in politics, what motivates him to lead, and his thoughts on recent ICE actions and upholding the rule of law. Beshear and Allred also delve into family, policy priorities, and the state of American democracy.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Gerrymandering and Voting Rights in Texas
- Allred’s Personal Stakes: Having served as a voting rights attorney, Colin passionately discusses Texas’s mid-cycle redistricting, which dissolved his former district (32nd) and diminished political power for Black and Brown communities.
- Historical Significance: He notes the gutting of districts with deep civil rights histories (e.g., Barbara Jordan’s former district in Houston).
- On Fairness:
“I just can’t stand the unfairness of trying to silence somebody’s voice… It’s a race to the bottom and they’re messing with historic accomplishments.”
(Colin Allred, 03:56) - Public Reaction: Colin echoes that voters resent obvious rigging—“folks don’t think that it’s right that you should sit around in smoke filled rooms and make decisions for communities.” (06:03)
- Broader Impact: Voter cynicism is stoked not just by partisanship, but by a sense that participation is pointless when the system is rigged.
2. Systemic Barriers and Campaign Finance
- Beshear’s “Magic Wand” Question: Where would Allred start if given the power to change one thing?
- Allred’s Dual Focus:
“I’m going to say voting rights and campaign finance, because I think they’re tied.”
(Colin Allred, 08:53) - Experience With Dark Money: Allred recounts a super PAC with untraceable foreign funding targeting him in 2018, revealing vulnerabilities in campaign finance laws (09:00–10:47).
- Efficiency and Accountability: He reflects on how gutting voting rights also entrenches incumbency and erodes meaningful turnover; calls for banning gerrymandering for all parties (07:30–08:04).
- Allred’s Dual Focus:
3. Personal “Why” and Commitment to Public Service
- Roots and Responsibility: Colin credits a single mother, public school, community support, and teachers for his own journey.
“There before the grace of God go I… I was given this chance… If we don’t give [opportunities], then we as policymakers, leaders, have failed them.”
(Colin Allred, 15:22) - What Voters Want:
“They’re not asking for us to do everything for them… They want an opportunity, and if they take advantage of it, great… If we’re not providing those opportunities, then to me, we’re failing them.”
(Colin Allred, 16:10–17:10)
4. Policy Lens: Youth, Equity, and Social Safety Nets
- Impact of Cuts: Both discuss the real life implications of proposed reductions to Medicaid, SNAP, and the child tax credit.
“If we’re honest about how you judge a society, I think it has to be how it treats its young people and its most vulnerable.”
(Colin Allred, 18:07) - False “Handout” Rhetoric: Allred frames support programs as springboards, not crutches—arguing that underinvestment is morally wrong and economically shortsighted.
- Working People as Everyday Heroes: Allred praises teachers like his mother and all Americans working multiple jobs to sustain their families and communities (20:31).
5. Family & Personal Motivation
- Modeling Fatherhood:
“I was the first member of Congress to publicly take paternity leave… I did that in 2019… I want to make sure that every person across the country should be able to have that time with their new child.”
(Colin Allred, 23:31) - Symbolic Gestures: Allred carries rocks his sons gifted him, as a tangible reminder of his family’s presence even while campaigning (24:00).
6. Current Worries and Hopes for America
- Destruction of Democratic Norms:
“It’s easy to destroy things… I worry that the destruction of some of the pillars in our democracy are happening at such a pace… We have a cowardly Congress that has decided that we should have, in effect, a king.”
(Colin Allred, 25:58, 26:36) - Hope from Ordinary People: Despite institutional failings, Allred is inspired by grassroots organizing and the refusal of many Americans to accept current corrosive politics (27:18).
7. ICE Shooting in Minneapolis & Law Enforcement Accountability
- ICE’s Conduct: Allred says recent ICE actions have “set back for decades” efforts at police-community trust (29:17).
- Proper Response:
“We should begin from a place of empathy and accountability and transparency, and then work backwards from there…”
(Colin Allred, 31:01) - Leadership Responsibilities: Beshear criticizes both Governor Kristi Noem and the President for prejudging incidents and failing to foster calm:
“If you are the head of that organization, you don’t want to reach any conclusion because otherwise you lessen the impact of that investigation…”
(Andy Beshear, 32:06) - Dangers of Political Rhetoric: Both warn that inflammatory statements from leadership embolden aggressive, even lethal, law enforcement conduct (32:27).
8. Rapid-Fire Personal Questions (33:27–35:31)
- Favorite Food: Tex-Mex.
- Greatest Play: Last college game—interception + touchdown (Colin Allred, 33:51).
- Secret Superpower: Making breakfast—“best scrambled eggs you can think about… breakfast tacos” (Colin Allred, 35:04).
Notable Quotes
- On Systemic Cynicism:
“Our fight is often not Republican versus Democrat—it’s whether or not [our communities] are going to vote at all… The way we unrig the system is to fight back against it.”
(Colin Allred, 07:00) - On Public Service:
“I think when you grow up that way, you kind of have this belief in community, but also in what can happen when we put opportunities in front of folks.”
(Colin Allred, 15:22) - On Congress:
“I think the Constitution imagined that we might have a president like this, but I don’t think it ever imagined that we’d have a congress like this at the same time… We have a cowardly Congress that decided we should have, in effect, a king.”
(Colin Allred, 26:36) - On Law Enforcement & Accountability:
“When you see a president use the aggressive type of language that he does, you create a level of toxicity where these types of things can happen…”
(Andy Beshear, 43:01) - On Hope:
“When I talk to ordinary people… this is not what they wanted… that friction is going to show up in this midterm. I think it’s going to show up in the election in 2028. But before then, it’s showing up right now…”
(Colin Allred, 27:18)
Important Timestamps
- 03:56 – Allred on why gerrymandering in Texas is a crisis for democracy
- 06:03 – Discussion on rigged systems and voter disillusionment
- 08:04 – Beshear & Allred: What would you fix first—term limits, voting rights, campaign finance?
- 10:00 – Allred on foreign money in campaigns
- 15:22 – Allred’s personal “why” and the importance of opportunity
- 18:07 – Allred: “I am so angry about [cuts to Medicaid, SNAP, etc.]”
- 20:31 – Lessons from Allred’s mother and role of educators
- 23:31 – Fatherhood, paternity leave, and family values
- 25:58 – Principal worry for the country
- 29:17 – ICE shooting response—rule of law and Congressional oversight
- 31:01 – Proper response to police violence: empathy, transparency, accountability
- 33:36–35:31 – Rapid-fire personal questions and lighthearted banter
Memorable Moments
- Carrying Stones as a Symbol:
Allred carries two rocks his sons gave him as a reminder of what he’s fighting for—showing a deeply personal touch to family and fatherhood (24:00). - Breakfast Mastery:
Allred jokes, “I’m very good at making breakfast—pancakes, breakfast tacos… I’m really good at breakfast” (35:04), showing warmth and relatability. - Beshear’s Soccer Analogy:
Light banter as Beshear, a former soccer defender, jokes about the lack of glory in preventing as opposed to scoring (34:39).
This episode offers a candid look into Colin Allred’s motivations, life experience, and policy priorities, with substantive discussion on what’s broken in American democracy and what needs to be rebuilt, all grounded in personal stories and a call for empathy and fairness.
Recommended for:
Listeners interested in the intersection of personal narrative, public policy, and the state of American democracy; those following Democratic primaries; and anyone wanting an unvarnished, human approach to politics and leadership.