El Paso lawyer announces consideration for run at Congress

El Paso attorney Jessica Kludt Allala announced Tuesday she is considering running in the upcoming 16th Congressional District election.

Kludt Allala has formed an exploratory committee made up of advisors to help her consider her campaign to become a U.S. State Representative.

The seat she would be running for is currently being held by Representative Beto O’Rourke, who is now running for U.S. Senator against Ted Cruz.

Kludt Allala has always been a democrat, but if she campaigns, she will run as an independent candidate. According to her, running independent would allow her to reach more voters in El Paso rather than if she ran in the traditional two-party system.

“El Pasoans, like many voters throughout the U.S., want to elect their own candidate, not necessarily the one picked by a political party,” Kludt Allala said in a statement. “Voters want to consider an alternative with new ideas, rather than a professional politician or establishment candidate.”

A lifelong El Pasoan, Kludt Allala graduated from Coronado High School then went to University of Texas at Austin. She works in elder law and is vice president of Townsend Allala and Associates, the law firm founded and headed by Stephanie Townsend Allala, who is her mother and law partner.

Kludt Allala expects to make a final decision concerning her candidacy for Congress by the end of August.