WASHINGTON (CN) - Texas Representative Jasmine Crockett is poised to jump into the Lone Star State's Senate race, in a move that could see her challenging longtime Senator John Cornyn as Democrats look to flip a crucial seat in the upper chamber.
The congresswoman has long explored a Senate run and had been expected to unveil her campaign this week. And, following the withdrawal of another Democratic primary challenger on Monday morning, she began making overtures towards announcing her bid.
As of Monday afternoon, Crockett had not yet publicly said she would run for Senate in Texas. But reports indicate that she had filed paperwork to begin her campaign.
Crockett, 44, has represented the Lone Star State's 30th Congressional District since 2023. In that time, she's earned a reputation as a liberal firebrand - but has also courted controversy, such as her March gaffe in which she referred to Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who uses a wheelchair, as "governor Hot Wheels."
Republicans are sure to use that reputation against her in a potential matchup against Cornyn. The Texas senator, himself facing a tough primary challenge from state attorney general Ken Paxton, has long half-jokingly urged Crockett to run, and the GOP views her as an easy general election opponent.
And in a statement Monday, Cornyn's campaign framed his potential opponent as a political radical and aligned her with other progressive voices in Congress.
"Jasmine Crockett is not hiding her politics; she's posing with them," the campaign said in a post on X accompanied with a selfie of the congresswoman and New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. "She is aligned with AOC, the Squad, and the far-left agenda they push in Congress."
But before she can face off against Cornyn, Crockett must first survive a Democratic primary against Texas state representative James Talarico, viewed by many as an up-and-coming talent in the party who could effectively threaten Republicans' iron grip on the state's two Senate seats.
In a statement Monday, Talarico's campaign welcomed the congresswoman to the race, saying that "our movement is rooted in unity over division."
Crockett's move toward the Texas Senate race also comes just hours after another would-be primary challenger bowed out of the contest. Colin Allred, a former congressman who challenged Texas Senator Ted Cruz in 2024, said Monday that he would instead seek to return to the House and represent Texas' 33rd Congressional District, newly gerrymandered by the state's legislature earlier this year.
"Today, the danger we face from Donald Trump is even greater and has added a level of corruption and rigging of our economy that has made it harder than ever for Texans," Allred said. "I'm humbly asking to return to Congress - to keep fighting so that kids who are growing up all across the 33rd District can get the same chances as I did."
Allred did not mention Crockett or her forthcoming campaign in his statement.
Democrats are hoping that Cornyn, the Lone Star State's senior senator serving since 2002, will be outflanked from his right by Paxton, who they view as a weaker opponent for Talarico or Crockett. And Paxton besting Cornyn in a primary is not out of the question - polling data from Emerson shows Cornyn up by just one point, and a separate poll from the University of Houston shows Paxton in the lead.
Texas Representative Wesley Hunt in October announced that he would also run in the state's Republican primary, a move that further muddies the waters for Cornyn's campaign.
Still, Democrats have yet to flip Senate seats in the Lone Star State. The party came tantalizingly close in 2018, as Beto O'Rourke lost to Cruz by just two percentage points. The Republican senator defeated Allred in 2024 by more than 8 points.
Source: Courthouse News Service
