Friend, my story starts with my mom. She raised me on her own, sometimes working two jobs to make ends meet. As a public school teacher, she taught me to value education; although I excelled in sports, homework always came first in our house.

A lot of the policies I'm fighting for now – affordable child care, universal pre-K, more support and opportunities for our kids – are informed by the tough choices I watched her make while I was growing up.

My world was small growing up. I don't remember traveling much farther than Brownsville, where my grandparents lived. But my love of reading and the strong community I found at our local YMCA made it feel bigger. I had a lot of support along the way to earn a full football scholarship to Baylor and eventually make it to the NFL – and I think that's what makes me so committed to fighting for today's kids. I don't want my story to be the exception; I want every kid to be supported and empowered to succeed.

My wife, Aly, and our two boys inspire me to work harder and dream bigger every day. When we decided to have kids, I knew from day one that I wanted to be there for every moment, and I wanted us to be equal partners. That's a big part of what inspired me to become the first member of Congress to take paternity leave and make fighting for paid family leave a key priority.

I'm telling you all this because it's all a big part of why I'm running for Senate – to fight for families like yours and mine. And, yes, as a fourth-generation Texan, I'm also sick and tired of watching Ted Cruz trample over our rights and embarrass the Lone Star State every chance he gets. Friend, I know Texans are ready for change, and I've taken down guys a lot tougher than Ted Cruz before. But I need your help.

Experts are calling Texas a battleground state, saying this could be one of the most competitive and most expensive races this cycle. It's going to take a historic outpouring of grassroots support to beat Ted Cruz, and I don't want to risk losing because we didn't have the resources we needed. So I'm personally asking, will you chip in $5 toward our end-of-quarter goal today to help me defeat Ted Cruz and be the Senator Texas families deserve? Any amount you can spare is truly appreciated. →

Thank you so much,

Colin Allred