Texas Democrats spent months hyping Rep. Jasmine Crockett as the party’s next big thing. Television hits, viral speeches attacking President Trump, glowing profiles in friendly media outlets, the whole package. Then the voters showed up Tuesday night and decided they preferred someone else.
State Rep. James Talarico defeated Crockett in the Democratic Senate primary, ending her attempt to jump from the House of Representatives to the upper chamber. According to the Associated Press, the 36 year old lawmaker now heads to the general election in a race Democrats have not won in Texas in nearly forty years.
That drought alone should tell you how steep the climb is.
The Senate seat will likely be one of the most closely watched races of the cycle. Republicans currently hold a 53 to 47 majority in the chamber, and Democrats were hoping Texas might somehow become competitive. That plan depended heavily on Crockett becoming the nominee and serving as the party’s loud national messenger against President Trump.
Instead, Democratic voters went in a very different direction.
Crockett entered the race with plenty of name recognition and a reputation as one of Trump’s fiercest critics in Congress. She built a following among progressives who enjoyed her combative style and viral Capitol Hill moments. National Democrats and much of the media loved it.
Inside Texas, the reception was not quite as enthusiastic.
As the campaign entered its final weeks, the primary turned into a messy fight over identity politics, electability, and whether Democrats could actually compete statewide in a conservative leaning state. The Crockett campaign leaned heavily into accusations of racism and “dog whistles,” while Talarico focused on a different argument entirely, that Democrats cannot win Texas by only energizing the progressive base.
The ugliness peaked when a social media influencer accused Talarico of making a remark about former Democratic congressman Colin Allred. Morgan Thompson, known online as @morga_tt, claimed Talarico said he had “signed up to run against a mediocre Black man, not a formidable, intelligent, Black woman.”
Talarico flatly denied it.
“In my praise of Congresswoman Crockett, I described Congressman Allred’s method of campaigning as mediocre — but his life and service are not. I would never attack him on the basis of race,” he said in a statement.
Allred jumped into the fight anyway, posting a video saying, “James, if you want to compliment Black women, just do it. Just do it. Don’t do it while also tearing down a Black man.”
Crockett embraced the controversy and later accused a Talarico aligned super PAC of darkening her skin tone in an ad, calling it “straight up racist.”
Meanwhile, Talarico stuck with a simpler pitch. He argued he could win votes from Republicans and independents because he had already flipped a red district around northeast Austin and its suburbs. He also built a large online following, appearing on Joe Rogan’s podcast and spreading viral clips across TikTok and social media.
Money and momentum followed. Talarico outraised and outspent Crockett in the final stretch of the race.
Now he heads into the general election against whichever Republican survives the brutal runoff between Sen. John Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Texas Democrats just made their choice, and they are betting that a calmer, younger candidate gives them a better shot in a state that has not sent a Democrat to the Senate since the 1980s. Whether that gamble pays off is another story entirely.
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