Texas Democrat Jasmine Crockett launches bid for US Senate seat | Texas
Democratic representative Jasmine Crockett launched a bid for the U.S. Senate in Texas on Monday, bringing a high-profile official into a race that could be critical to Democrats’ bold ambition to win back the Senate majority in next year’s midterm elections.
Crockett, one of Congress’ most outspoken Democrats and a frequent target of GOP attacks, made the announcement shortly before 6 p.m., the time for candidates to file paperwork for the state’s March 3 primary. The two-term representative from Dallas is trying to flip the seat of Republican John Cornyn, who is running for re-election in the GOP-dominated state.
He will face state representative and rising star James Talarico of Austin, whose campaign made national headlines with viral social media posts challenging Republican policies such as private school vouchers and requiring the Ten Commandments in classrooms.
Democrats need to win a net four seats in the Senate to wrest control from the GOP next November, when most of the seats up for re-election are in states like Texas, which Donald Trump won last year. Democrats have long hoped to make Texas more competitive after decades of Republican dominance.
Crockett’s entry into the race comes after another Democratic Senate candidate, former Rep. Colin Allred of Dallas, dropped out of the race earlier Monday. Instead of entering the Senate race, he chose to run for the newly designated 33rd congressional district in Dallas County.
In recent weeks, Crockett has publicly debated whether he would enter the race, telling PBS News he would do so if he believed he could win not only the primary but also the general election. “If the numbers are strong that I’m our best chance, then that’s bigger than my district. It’s bigger than the state of Texas. It’s about the country because we know that if we can change the Senate map in this country, then that’s where we’re going to start winning,” he said.
