One of the most prominent gun safety advocates in Texas legislature launches bid against Ted Cruz

Texas state Sen. Roland Gutierrez, who has been one of the legislature’s most prominent gun safety activists since last year’s Robb Elementary massacre happened in his district, on Monday joined the Democratic primary to go up against GOP Sen. Ted Cruz in a state that Gutierrez's party is hoping to put in play. Gutierrez’s declaration came about two months after Rep. Colin Allred entered the race to become Texas' first Democratic U.S. senator since 1993. Allred recently disclosed he'd brought in $6.2 million for his opening fundraising quarter, though he hasn't said yet how much money he had available at the end of June; Cruz himself has also yet to reveal his most recent fundraising numbers.

Gutierrez, who would be the first Latino Democrat to represent the Lone Star State in the upper chamber, was elected to the state House in 2008 and won a promotion in 2020 by unseating GOP state Sen. Pete Flores 50-47. The Democrat, who represents a San Antonio-based seat, took on statewide prominence after last year’s school shooting in Uvalde, saying in May, "There is a special place in hell for people who have this kind of problem staring them square in the face and have done nothing about it."