The 32nd Congressional District race features a self-described new Democrat making his first run for public office and a powerful, veteran incumbent from the traditional conservative wing of the Republican Party.

The reason the race between Democrat Colin Allred and Pete Sessions is attracting so much attention is a direct result of the 2016 election, when Hillary Clinton beat Donald Trump in the Dallas-area district. That signaled to progressives that, perhaps, the district had evolved enough to give a Democrat a chance.

Allred is a black millennial who once played in the NFL and now wants to help bring universal health care to Americans. Sessions is a staunch baby boomer conservative in what was a heavily Republican district who says the Affordable Care Act was a mistake and the country'seconomy can't afford progressive ideas.

But issues won't be the major motivator in this closely watched race.

The contest could turn on the candidates' cultural and generational differences, as well as the demographic changes in a district originally drawn to assure Sessions' re-election. And behind the scenes is the aftermath of Trump's historic election and whether the backlash from his detractors impacts Republicans like Sessions.

Allred became the Democratic nominee by offering something different, while Sessions promises to continue the conservative policies he says are working.

A new Democrat

Allred, 35, was largely unknown on the Texas political scene until he announced he would challenge Sessions. The former Tennessee Titans player breezed through crowded field in the Democratic primary by promising to bring more voters to the process, while also appealing to voters