Crockett’s Announcement shakes up Democratic primary – Former Rep. Colin Allred dropped out of the race Monday morning, but state Rep. James Talarico remains as Democrats prepare to contend for GOP Sen. John Cornyn’s seat.
Representative Jasmine Crockett on Monday filed paperwork to run for the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Texas, hours ahead of a planned news conference where she announced her plans. Crockett joins the race to take on GOP Sen. John Cornyn, who is facing multiple primary challengers himself. The two-term congresswoman’s decision also comes as her Dallas-based House seat was redrawn in a GOP-led redistricting effort.
“I’m done with going along to get along, and it gets us nowhere,” Crockett, one of Congress’ most outspoken Democrats, said during her announcement Monday. “I’m done watching rural hospitals and public schools close their doors. I’m done watching parents be afraid to send their kids to school or the mall or the movies because Republicans have flooded our streets with guns. I’m done with the Senators sitting around doing nothing, while Trump takes your hard-earned money, skims your Social Security, slashes Medicare, and gives tax breaks to billionaires. I’m done. I’m done watching the American dream on life support while Trump tries to pull the plug. The gloves have been off, and now I’m jumping into the ring. I’m asking for your support to be the next United States Senator from the great state of Texas.”
Crockett, with a slogan of “Texas Tough,” pitched herself as the Democrat best-positioned to drive out turnout and appeal to disillusioned voters, saying she can build “a strong multi-racial, multi-generational coalition,” and pledged to focus on addressing the cost of living and holding President Donald Trump accountable.
Some Democrats dismissed the Dallas congresswoman as too polarizing to capture the swing voters needed to win. Others said her turnout-over-persuasion approach is the recipe to break through.
“In the eyes of some pundits and politicos, the Dallas Democrat’s nomination would spell doom for her party’s chances of winning a statewide race for the first time in over three decades. To others, she is a fighter and gifted communicator whose expand-the-electorate strategy is worth trying in a state where Democrats of all stripes and styles have failed,” The Texas Tribune reported.
Democrats have not won a statewide race in Texas in more than 30 years, but they have been eyeing next year’s Senate race as a potential pickup opportunity, with Cornyn facing primary challenges from state Attorney General Ken Paxton and GOP Rep. Wesley Hunt. Democrats need to net four seats to take back the Senate next year.
Others say she would need to attract voters who cast their ballots for President Donald Trump, in a state the president carried last November by nearly 14 percentage points — a gap that some argue cannot be bridged by high Democratic turnout alone, and that Crockett is too polarizing to achieve.
As Democrats have struggled with unscripted forums, finding their digital voice and authentic presentation, Crockett, a frequent presence on cable television and in long-form interviews, is regarded among the base as an invigorating and clear communicator, never robotic or boring.
“Jasmine Crockett is the most talked about member of the United States Congress, House or Senate,” Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis, a bastion of Houston politics, said at Crockett’s launch event. “And why are they talking about her? Because she talks back. She will expand our base. She’s a great communicator. She has shown that she can raise money.”
Crockett said her campaign conducted polling showing her in a strong position in the general election and the primary, though she did not name her chief primary opponent as she launched her campaign Monday night.
If no candidate wins more than 50% of the vote in either of the March 3 primaries, the top two vote-getters advance to a primary runoff on May 26.
