Jasmine Crockett’s Political Career Takes Brutal Turn In Senate Primary Race

Rep. Jasmine Crockett’s bid to jump from the House to the Senate crashed Tuesday night after Texas state Rep. James Talarico beat her in the Democratic primary, according to The Associated Press.

Talarico, 36, a Democratic lawmaker with a fast-rising national profile, now advances to the general election in a state Democrats haven’t won at the Senate level in nearly four decades. He will face the winner of a bruising Republican runoff between Sen. John Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

The Texas contest is one of the marquee Senate races of the cycle and could help decide whether Republicans keep control of the chamber. The GOP currently holds a 53-47 majority.

Crockett, 44, entered the race as a progressive firebrand and one of President Donald Trump’s loudest Capitol Hill critics. Democrats and national media routinely cast her as a rising star. But inside Texas, her style proved polarizing, and the final stretch of the primary turned into a referendum on electability, identity politics and the party’s future in a right-leaning state.

In the closing weeks, the Crockett-Talarico battle got ugly, with race becoming a central issue.

Talarico, who is White, was accused a month ago by an influencer of calling former Rep. Colin Allred, a previous contender for the nomination, a “mediocre Black man.”

Morgan Thompson, the influencer known as @morga_tt on TikTok, claimed Talarico told her in a private conversation that he had “signed up to run against a mediocre Black man, not a formidable, intelligent, Black woman.”

Talarico denied the allegation and pushed back publicly.

“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, the party’s 2024 Senate nominee, responded with his own warning shot.

BREAKING 🚨 Rep Jasmine Crockett just lost her Democrat Primary for the Senate. I LOVE THIS

SHE IS NO LONGER GOING TO BE IN CONGRESS

GOOD RIDDANCE pic.twitter.com/KspQdH2wqK

— MAGA Voice (@MAGAVoice) March 4, 2026

“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,” Allred said in a video.

Crockett leaned into the controversy, saying Allred “drew a line in the sand.” She later accused a Talarico-aligned super PAC of darkening her skin tone in an ad and called it “straight up racist.”

She also argued that criticism of her statewide electability was a “dog whistle” that was “tearing down a Black woman,” insisting she was the “most qualified” candidate.

Talarico’s campaign took the opposite approach, leaning hard on a pitch Democrats rarely make in Texas: he said he can win over Republican voters. He highlighted his past win flipping a red district in northeast Austin and its suburbs, and he questioned whether Crockett could run a competitive general election campaign outside deep-blue pockets.

Talarico also had money and momentum. He outraised and outspent Crockett in the final two months and used his growing celebrity to dominate the media oxygen. His viral social media clips, TikTok presence and appearance on Joe Rogan’s podcast boosted his reach far beyond Texas political circles. Rogan even suggested Talarico should run for president.

Crockett’s loss is a major setback for Democrats who saw her as a national messenger against Trump. Instead, Texas Democrats picked a younger candidate with a calmer public image and a clear argument that the party cannot win statewide by simply energizing the base.

Now Talarico heads into a general election where Democrats haven’t broken through in decades, and where Republicans will be eager to tie him to the national party’s most unpopular positions, regardless of the primary’s outcome.

Download the FREE Trending Politics App to get the latest news FIRST >>