You will be less than surprised to find out that Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett’s (TX-30) Senate campaign is worrying Democrats.
Crockett announced her intention to run earlier this month. Polling shows that she is likely to win the Democratic primary race and become the nominee. This isn’t sitting well with many Democrats, according to The Hill.
Crockett, a polarizing figure who has built a significant following through her viral attacks on President Trump and other Republicans, immediately became the likely Democratic front-runner when she entered the primary earlier this month.
But her entrance into the race has drawn concern from notable corners of the party, with Democrats like James Carville criticizing her approach to politics and some operatives fearing she could be a gift to the GOP in the general election.
Other Democrats have rushed to her defense, arguing she has name recognition and grassroots energy to be competitive next fall.
“Jasmine’s challenge is to prove people wrong that she somehow benefits the Republicans by being in the race,” said Matt Angle, director of the Lone Star Project, a Democratic PAC in the state.
Crockett, who announced her Senate bid just hours before the filing deadline, will square off in Texas’s March primary with state Rep. James Talarico (D), another rising star who gained national prominence as one of the Democratic legislators who fled Texas over a GOP-led redistricting effort. Talarico has welcomed Crockett’s bid, stressing Democratic unity.
Just days after a campaign launch that leaned heavily into her image as an outspoken Trump opponent, a new survey from Texas Southern University found her with an 8-point edge over Talarico among Democratic primary voters.
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Democratic strategist James Carville told The Hill that Crockett “violates the first rule of politics,” which is “you always make it about the voters and never about yourself.”
He observed that when “you listen to her talk, it’s a lot more about herself than it is about the voters.”
An Austin-based Democratic pollster suggested that Texans “are more likely to see people who would have wanted to skip Paxton on the ballot vote for [Texas Attorney General Ken] Paxton because they see [Crockett] as the worse choice.”
Democrats told Axios that they are concerned about Crockett’s candidacy.
Rep. Jasmine Crockett has left some of her fellow House Democrats infuriated after launching a bid for U.S. Senate in Texas.
Why it matters: Many in the party fear the anti-Trump firebrand will alienate swing voters and drag down Democrats in the state if she clinches the nomination — including in several key House races that could decide control of the lower chamber.
"She might win a primary, but she ain't winning a general in Texas," said a senior House Democrat who, like others quoted in this story, spoke on the condition of anonymity to offer candid thoughts about a colleague.
"It's concerning for [swing] districts ... I think it's a bad decision," said a second House Democrat.
Republicans were ecstatic when Crockett announced her candidacy. In fact, the GOP’s Senate campaign organization might have been instrumental in persuading her to run, according to NOTUS.
Republicans’ Senate campaign arm has actively worked behind the scenes to encourage Rep. Jasmine Crockett to jump into the Senate Democratic primary in Texas, believing she will be the easiest opponent to beat.
Just a month ago, there was grave concern among Republicans about the Senate race, where incumbent Sen. John Cornyn is running for reelection. Democrats were running two formidable candidates, and Cornyn was caught in the middle of a bruising three-way primary that Republicans were concerned would weaken the eventual nominee.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee put out a poll in July with Crockett’s name included, which showed her as the leading Democrat in a hypothetical matchup.
“When we saw the results, we were like, ‘OK, we got to disseminate this far and wide,’” a source familiar with the process told NOTUS.
The fact that Crockett was included in the poll was no accident.
Republicans pushed the polls into progressive spaces online. They organized calls and text messages urging Democratic activists and voters to push Crockett to run.
Democrats are right to be worried. Jasmine Crockett is the perfect candidate if the objective is to ensure that the Republican candidate wins.
Crockett’s popularity on the left stems from her preference for sound bites and viral video clips over substance. Carville is right, Crockett’s campaign is more about her than voters. She wants to be seen, but doesn’t actually have solutions for Texans, which is why she will lose regardless of who Republicans nominate.
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