Jasmine Crockett in the Texas Democratic Senatorial Primary
Crockett's Senate run announcement has all eyes on Texas
Jasmine Crockett Announces Senate Run
U.S. Representative Jasmine Crockett has recently announced her run for Senate with an audacious campaign ad that features her before a dark background, paired with a voiceover of President Trump commenting on her as a rising Democratic star while simultaneously making defamatory statements about her intelligence. The ad became the first source of controversy, with critics noting that the use of Trump’s commentary as voiceover leaned into the same trite Democratic anti-Trumpism that took up valuable space that could have been used for Crockett’s own voice and her positions on the critical issues affecting Texans.
The Attempt to Unseat John Cornyn
The announcement has drawn significant attention to the Texas Democratic senatorial primary, with Crockett entering the race against Texas State Representative James Talarico. In 2026, the winner of this primary will face the current Republican U.S. Senator from Texas, John Cornyn, who has held the seat since 2002. With a tenure that long, Democrats in Texas need nothing short of a miracle to unseat him.
Though many opinions are circulating about Crockett right now—and rightfully so—she may have a personality large enough for such a task. Crockett became a household name well beyond Capitol Hill after a viral exchange with U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, in which she memorably implied that Greene was a “bleach blonde bad built butch body.”
This election is notable in U.S. politics as it marks another high-profile race featuring a prominent Black woman potentially running against a Republican with substantial public support. Online, Crockett has been trending as content creators—much like during Kamala Harris’ 2024 presidential run—dissect her position on the Israeli-led, U.S.-backed genocide in Gaza, an issue many analysts believe played a significant role in Harris’ loss. Despite that outcome, Crockett appears to be adopting a similar dismissive posture toward pro-Palestinian protestors, recently responding to questions about her stance by calling critics “intellectually lazy” and encouraging them to do more research.
And, well—I had some time. So I did exactly that.
Unfortunately, the more research I did, the worse it got. AJP Action, which documents and rates U.S. politicians based on their voting records and public positions on Palestine, gave Crockett an F.
Crockett took a trip to “Israel” that totaled more than $20,000, financed by AIPAC-adjacent organizations allowing her to claim she has taken no AIPAC funding in a technically true but materially misleading way.
During that trip, she posed for photos with IDF soldiers.
In multiple clips, Crockett responds to journalists pressing her on the issue but fails to take a clear stance. Worse, in extended footage, she leans into liberal Zionist talking points that justify Israel’s imperialism in the region and double down on U.S. support. Based on the views she expressed in her 2024 interview with Jason Lee, her position on this issue has not evolved despite pushback and critique from the Democratic base, which is now largely opposed to the genocide in Gaza.
By contrast, her opponent James Talarico, has articulated a clearer and more explicit stance on the genocide, alongside other notable shifts in response to controversies surrounding his past donors.
Online, the controversy tends to divide into two camps: one that cautions against the heightened scrutiny Black women often face in politics and warns voters not to reduce their decision to “one issue,” and another that refuses to support any candidate who does not unequivocally rebuke Israel.