North Texas U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett has formally entered the U.S. Senate race. She filed her candidacy on Monday. Crockett will face state Rep. James Talarico of Austin in the Democratic primary.
KERA wrote that Crockett may have an advantage going into the race.
Crockett may have an upper hand against her democratic colleagues: in recent polling from the University of Houston Hobby School of Public Affairs, she received a plurality of support among likely voters in a hypothetical race against Talarico, Allred and O’Rourke. About half of poll respondents were not familiar with Castro.
The news comes after Rep. Julie Johnson announced her filing to run for the new Congressional District 33 on Friday. Crockett would have had to face Colin Allred for the seat but he will now face Johnson announcing his run for the same district Monday morning.
A crowd of popular and prominent names are in the mix will anticipation still for possible announcements by Beto O’ Rourke and Joaquin Castro.
The primary is set for March 3.
–Rich Lopez
This is a bold and maybe game-changing move by the Democratic field in Texas. By entering the Senate race, Jasmine Crockett is betting on her national profile and grassroots appeal to help transform a famously red state. If she can mobilize voters and turn energy into turnout, this could prove that Texas is more competitive, and that bold voices still matter.