In one of yesterday’s reports, I stated that the whispers here in Texas were that Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) would announce her candidacy for Sen. John Cornyn’s (R-TX) seat in the 2026 cycle.
Well, she has since announced, and a major contender in the Democrat Party primary has already dropped out rather than get into a mud-slinging contest with Crockett.
A lot of people on the right are dismissing Crockett's candidacy and consider her fledgling campaign to be a joke, but I would not be so quick to do so.
Before Crockett entered the race, Texas State Rep. James Talarico had surged to the lead in the Democrat primary stakes, leading Colin Allred by six points.
In terms of possible Republican opponents, Talarico was well within the margin of error against every Republican, and he performed far better than Crockett against Sen. Cornyn and Attorney General Ken Paxton, the two frontrunners for the GOP.
Those polls, however, were conducted before Crockett announced, so we will need some time to see how the numbers play out now that she has officially entered the race.
Don’t be surprised if she sees a massive surge in polling in upcoming surveys, but I would also expect that to die off once the shine rubs off her new campaign.
Late Monday afternoon, Crockett made it official that she would be seeking the Senate seat from Texas.
She stated, "Many people wonder why I jumped in this race so late, and I just want to be clear that this was never my intention, this was never about me, I never put myself into any of the polls.”
Crockett continued, "But the more I saw the poll results, I couldn't ignore the trends, which were clear, both as it relates to the primary as well as the general election, I could have played it safe and continued serving in the United States House of Representatives for as long as my constituents would have me, but I don't choose to do that, because, Texas, this moment we're in now is life or death."
She concluded, "Many people asked, ‘Can we win this race in November?’ I’m here to say, ‘Yes, we can!’"
If you are asking me for my opinion of Crockett, I think she is a social media star who happens to collect a check from the American taxpayer. She has literally done nothing as a legislator other than promote her social media accounts. She is a clown show.
So, I get why people are mocking her candidacy, including Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who responded, “Jasmine Crockett about to learn the hard way that most Texans are very different from her district, her base & her values. She’ll be pummeled for her progressive socialist agenda & get crushed by the Republican nominee for Senate.”
Abbott continued, “The Texas political cemetery is filled with blow hards like her who have no idea what it’s like to run statewide. Looking forward to watching the circus -- and KEEPING the US Senate seat red. On the bright side for her, maybe she’ll end up with a job on The View.”
I never laugh off a campaign, especially with someone as popular among certain constituencies as Crockett is. She is not a serious politician, but the left loves these social media stars who pretend to be legislators, and her announcement created quite a buzz online. Now, she still has to get past the primary, which is not going to be an easy thing to do. But if she comes out the winner, we are going to need the entire party to rally behind the winner of the GOP primary to ensure that this woman does not represent the great state of Texas in the United States Senate.
