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U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas, on Monday filed to run for U.S. Senate, scrambling the Democratic field after teasing her potential entry for months.
Crockett, a second-term congresswoman, has skyrocketed to fame through viral spats with Republicans and as a frequent presence in the Democratic media ecosystem. The 44-year-old’s fiery clashes with Republicans have earned her legions of social media followers and donors, turning her into one of the party’s most prolific fundraisers even as she has been passed up for multiple House leadership roles.
Crockett is joining a field that already includes Austin state Rep. James Talarico, also known as a strong communicator and for his progressive brand of Christianity. But her path was made easier by fellow Dallasite Colin Allred’s decision to exit the Senate race, which he announced early Monday morning. Both Allred, the 2024 Democratic nominee, and Talarico had been running for months, with Allred launching his campaign in July, followed by Talarico in September. The primary is March 3.
But as Crockett began to move closer to a bid, she called both Allred and Talarico to discuss her internal polling of the race, and the prospect of forming a slate. That did not pan out; a similar effort to divide up the marquee statewide offices over the summer also failed, with too many candidates drawn to the Senate race over other contests such as governor and attorney general.
Crockett was expected to formally announce her Senate campaign at an event scheduled for 4:30 p.m. The Texas Democratic Party added her early Monday afternoon to a list of candidates who have filed for the 2026 primaries.
Despite joining the field late, Crockett poses a clear threat to Talarico, having outperformed him in public polling of the Democratic electorate this fall. She had $4.6 million in cash on hand at last count.
In a statement, Talarico welcomed Crockett to the race while insisting that his campaign remained well-positioned to win.
“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,” Talarico said. “Our movement is rooted in unity over division — so we welcome Congresswoman Crockett into this race.”
Crockett had discussed the possibility of a Senate bid in recent weeks, especially after Republicans’ mid-decade redistricting changed the contours of her Dallas-based district. In an October interview on SiriusXM, she said she was testing whether her candidacy could expand the Texas electorate by incentivizing infrequent voters to turn out.
In a November interview with Politico, Crockett said she would only run for Senate if the data from her internal campaign polling showed that she could win a general election.
More recently, she has said her internal polling has shown she can win a general election. Crockett also publicly discussed her desire to form a winning slate of Democratic candidates for statewide offices. While the Senate candidates ultimately did not work out a statewide slate, Allred’s exit leaves only two high-profile candidates vying for the nomination, lowering the chances of a May runoff.
So far, no public poll has shown Crockett winning a general election against Sen. John Cornyn, Attorney General Ken Paxton or Rep. Wesley Hunt of Houston, each of whom are running for the GOP nomination.
A lawyer and former public defender, Crockett first entered politics in 2020, when she won a seat in the Texas House of Representatives. After serving one term in the Legislature, she made the jump to Congress in 2022, when she ran for Dallas Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson’s seat after the longtime Democratic congresswoman announced her retirement and subsequently endorsed Crockett.
Her quick-witted, alliterative communication style has earned her viral fame, including when she first rose to national prominence after saying Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Georgia, had a “bleach blonde, bad built, butch body,” a phrase that quickly popped up on Crockett’s campaign merchandise. Her comments have also landed her in hot water at times, such as when she referred to Gov. Greg Abbott, who uses a wheelchair, as “Governor Hot Wheels.”
Crockett has also been a regular target of President Donald Trump, who disparages her more often than nearly any other House Democrat, further heightening her profile.
Republicans in Texas and Washington have made little secret of their preference for Crockett, convinced she would be a weak general election candidate — though each Republican campaign filtered the news through the strength of their own candidate.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee, the Senate GOP’s campaign arm and a Cornyn backer, has been needling Crockett for months, including putting out a poll of the Democratic primary in July that had her leading.
“Jasmine Crockett leading her primary is the latest sign that the Democrat Party is being run by radical leftists,” NRSC spokesperson Joanna Rodriguez said in a statement Monday. “Crockett said herself no Texas Democrat is beating John Cornyn, and the threat of her in the U.S. Senate makes it clearer now than ever that Cornyn is the only conservative who will keep Texas red and safeguard President Trump’s Senate Majority.”
Paxton turned her entry into the race into an attack on Cornyn, saying on X that “everyone knows Crockett will be soundly defeated” and that the national GOP’s continued spending to boost Cornyn in the Republican primary would be better used in more competitive states.
In a statement, the Paxton campaign pointed out that Cornyn called Crockett his legislative “dance partner” in early 2024. And the attorney general predicted the Dallas congresswoman would lose by “double digits” next year.
Texas’ 2026 U.S. Senate race has attracted widespread interest from ambitious Democrats, even though the state has not elected a Democrat to the upper chamber since 1988. The party is optimistic about the combination of a midterm election while Trump is president — which produced Democrats’ closest statewide margin in decades in 2018 — and the prospect of facing Paxton, a Republican candidate with legal and ethical baggage.
Crockett has said as much, telling Politico she did not think any Democrat would be able to take out Cornyn, the incumbent, if he weathers his competitive primary.
Crockett’s entry into the Senate race also somewhat resolves a redistricting dilemma among Democrats in North Texas. Republicans redrew the congressional map over the summer to shrink the number of blue-leaning seats in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex from three to two, meaning at least one of the region’s Democrats would be out of Congress come 2027.
But with Crockett running for Senate, the path is now clear for Reps. Julie Johnson, D-Farmers Branch, and Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth, to run as incumbents without facing one another.
However, Allred has filed to run in the 33rd Congressional District, pitting him against Johnson — his successor in Congress in the Democratic primary for the Dallas-based House district.
Disclosure: Politico has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete list of them here.
