Talarico leads but Crockett goes to court over Dallas vote in Democratic Texas Senate race shocker
Early election results showed that state Representative and rising star James Talarico leads in the Democratic primary for Senate on Tuesday evening as Democrats hope to pull off an upset in a state where they have not won a statewide race since 1998.
The race remains too close to call. But Talarico’s opponent for the nomination, Rep. Jasmine Crockett from Dallas, said that Democrats would likely not know the results of the race because of chaos at polling places in her home county.
Crockett, who is Black, accused Republicans of trying to disenfranchise African American voters.
The race comes as Republican incumbent Sen. John Cornyn will head into a bruising twelve-week primary against ultra-MAGA Attorney General Ken Paxton after neither won a majority of the GOP vote on Tuesday.
Talarico, a Presbyterian seminarian and former teacher teacher, became something of an overnight sensation thanks to an appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience where the titular Austin-based host said he needed to run for president.
Talarico caught another lucky break whenThe Late Show with Stephen Colbert caused his stock to rise after Colbert said that CBS’s attorneys prohibited from having Talarico on the show lest the network violate the Federal Communications Commission’s Equal Time rule, though the network denied saying that.
When Colbert’s team put the interview on YouTube, the video racked up millions of views and the candidate raised $2.5 million in 24 hours.
Texas’ Senate race has already emerged as one of the most expensive in the country, topping out at $128 million.
Talarico’s lead comes despite the fact that Republicans had boosted Crockett’s campaign. The National Republican Senatorial Committee, the GOP’s official Senate campaign arm, had commissioned a poll showing her leading a prospective primary. Cornyn put it plainly last year when he tweeted “Run Jasmine, run!”
On the last day of filing, Crockett jumped into the race, forcing out former congressman Colin Allred, who had run against Sen. Ted Cruz in 2024 and lost.
Crockett had been seen as something of a firebrand who earned plaudits in liberal circles for her aggressive attacks against Republicans. She famously referred to former congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene as a “bleach blonde bad-built butch body” after Greene referred to Crockett’s “fake eyelashes.” But she also received criticism for calling Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who uses a wheelchair, “Governor Hot Wheels.”
Crockett also received the backing of former Vice President Kamala Harris, who produced a robocall message for Crockett.
By contrast, Talarico’s supporters argued that he could win over Christian conservatives because of his openness about his faith. He also aggressively reached out to Hispanic voters and independent voters.
On Tuesday evening, the chairman of the Dallas County Democratic Party filed a lawsuit after many Democrats did not know where to go to cast their ballot. Initially, it looked like Dallas County’s polls would be open until 9:00 PM local time until the Texas Supreme Court blocked the decision.
