On December 9, 2025, Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Dallas made her bid for the U.S. Senate official, filing paperwork and announcing her candidacy with characteristic fire. "I'm done with going along to get along, and it gets us nowhere," she declared at her news conference, as reported by CBS News Texas. Crockett's entry into the race has upended the Democratic field and set the stage for a dramatic contest, both within her own party and against a fractured Republican opposition.
The Texas Senate race is shaping up to be one of the most closely watched—and potentially expensive—battles of the 2026 cycle. The stakes are high: with Democrats facing a three-seat deficit in the Senate, capturing a red state like Texas could make all the difference for control of Congress. And with the Republican side riven by a contentious three-way primary, Democrats see a rare opening.
Crockett's approach is unapologetically bold. Rather than moderating her views to appeal to swing voters, she has doubled down on base mobilization—a strategy that has become the norm for Republicans in the Trump era, but remains hotly debated among Democrats. As New York Magazine notes, Crockett's style is less about policy specifics and more about energy and combativeness, making her a fundraising magnet and a pop-culture figure. She has been in exactly three general elections in her Dallas base, none of which were remotely competitive, but her national profile has soared, thanks in part to viral moments like her May 2024 exchange with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and public feuds with Donald Trump.
Her campaign's core message is about turning out voters who have historically been ignored. "Our goal is to make sure that we can engage people that historically have not been talked to because there are so many people that get ignored, specifically in the state of Texas," Crockett said, as quoted by HuffPost. "Listen, the state of Texas is 61 percent people of color. We have a lot of good folk that we can talk to." The idea is to expand the electorate, not just chase after persuadable moderates.
Crockett's path to the nomination became clearer when former U.S. Rep. Colin Allred dropped out of the race on the last day of candidate filing, a move many attribute to Crockett's entry and her claim of strong internal polling. Allred, who had previously run for Senate against Ted Cruz, chose to seek a newly redrawn congressional seat instead. In a statement, he said, "A bruising Senate Democratic primary and runoff would prevent the Democratic Party from going into this critical election unified against the danger posed to our communities and our Constitution by Donald Trump and one of his Republican bootlickers Paxton, Cornyn, or Hunt."
Now, Crockett faces Austin state Rep. James Talarico in the Democratic primary. Talarico, a progressive with a religious bent and a reputation for reaching out to Trump voters, raised a record $6.2 million in the first three weeks of his campaign. He welcomed Crockett to the race, emphasizing unity and grassroots momentum: "We're building a movement in Texas—fueled by record-breaking grassroots fundraising and 10,000 volunteers who are putting in the work to defeat the billionaire mega-donors and puppet politicians who have taken over our state."
But it's Crockett's strategy that is drawing the most attention—and controversy. She insists she won't moderate her positions to win over crossover voters. "What most Democrats have historically done, believing that they needed to try to get those votes, is they've compromised who they were, instead of just allowing people to see that you stand in your strength and that you are advocating for what you believe in," Crockett told reporters, as The Dallas Morning News reported. She argues that Texans want a "fighter," regardless of whether they agree with her on every issue. "I think that people at least can live with a Senator Crockett because they know that she will fight for them," she said.
Her campaign, however, is not without its challenges. Crockett's unfavorability ratings hover near 50% in some polls, and she has declined to release internal polling data she claims shows her beating all three Republican candidates. "The reason I've not released my polling is because the Republicans are about to duke it out for some time, and I don't want to do anything to tip my hand," she explained. Despite these numbers, Crockett believes the Republican field—incumbent Sen. John Cornyn, Attorney General Ken Paxton, and Rep. Wesley Hunt—is vulnerable, particularly as Paxton leads the primary despite ongoing legal and ethical scandals, including divorce allegations from his wife, Angela Paxton.
Crockett blames Republican policies, especially those linked to Donald Trump, for persistent inflation and high grocery costs that are hitting Texans hard. She is also known for her outspoken support of LGBTQ+ rights and a ban on assault weapons—stances that could be tough sells in a conservative state, but ones she refuses to soften.
The general election is expected to be not only fiercely competitive but also extraordinarily costly. Republican consultant Vinny Minchillo told CBS News Texas that the race could cost at least $750 million by the time all is said and done, factoring in candidate spending and third-party groups. The Republican primary itself is a bruising affair, with Cornyn, Paxton, and Hunt trading barbs and spending millions. Paxton's campaign has already labeled Crockett "Crazy Crockett," while Cornyn's team is fighting off attacks from all sides.
Some Democrats worry that Crockett's combative style could energize Republicans as much as it does Democrats. Matt Angle, director of the Lone Star Project, a Democratic PAC, noted, "That's the real challenge is for her to be able to increase turnout for not just her race, but for other Democrats without motivating Republicans." Minchillo, the GOP consultant, put it more bluntly: "I think she's a real polarizing candidate. She's fun to watch in which she goes crazy on the news. It's always interesting to watch. But I just don't think that's going to work in a general election. I think she is too extreme and too far left for even Texas Democrats."
Crockett herself is undeterred by the criticism. She has sought the counsel of Georgia's Stacey Abrams, who twice ran for governor on a similar base-mobilization strategy. Crockett insists that the only way Democrats can win in Texas is by bringing new voters into the fold. "If the electorate remains the same electorate that we've had over the last 30 years, then I think we're going to end up with the same result," she told CBS News Texas. "I think that's the only way that we win in Texas is if we have a candidate that can add to the electorate."
With her Senate run, Crockett will leave her seat in the 30th Congressional District, which she has represented since 2023. The redistricting shuffle has triggered a cascade of new candidacies, with Rep. Marc Veasey and others vying for newly redrawn districts in Dallas and beyond. The ripple effects of Crockett's decision—and the strategies she embodies—are sure to shape Texas politics well beyond 2026.
As the campaign heats up, one thing is certain: Jasmine Crockett is determined to make herself, and her approach, the big issue in Texas's Democratic primary and, if she wins, in the general election as well.
