The crowded Democrat primary contest to challenge incumbent Republican Sen. John Cornyn in Texas could soon get messier, with another name potentially in the mix.
Democratic Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett said Wednesday that she is considering making a run for Senate during the midterms. Crockett, a two-term lawmaker and a member of the far-left cohort of Democrats known as “the Squad” argued that she could beat out the current field of candidates in the primary, citing recent polling. (RELATED: Jasmine Crockett Holds Healthy Lead In Hypothetical 2026 Senate Race, Shock Poll Shows)
“And then the other option is every other day there’s a poll that comes out that makes it clear that I can win the primary for the U.S. Senate race in Texas,” Crockett said on SiriusXM’s The Lurie Daniel Favors Show while discussing the state’s new congressional map. “And I am looking. Because if you want to take my seat of 766,000 away, I feel like there has to be some karma in that to where I take your seat that is for 30 million away.”
Texas lawmakers redrew the state’s congressional map this summer, positioning Republicans to net as many as five new House seats. The newly-drawn map would nix one Democratic-leaning district around Dallas, forcing Crockett and the two other Dallas-based House Democrats to potentially run against each other to remain in Congress.
Crockett leads a hypothetical Senate primary field with 31% of the vote among likely Democratic primary voters, according to an October University of Houston-Texas Southern University poll.
State Rep. James Talarico and former Rep. Beto O’Rourke both drew 25% support in the survey. Former Rep. Colin Allred, who launched a failed run against Republican Sen. Ted Cruz in 2024, registered just 16% support.
O’Rourke has not announced a run and has hinted that he would support Crockett’s candidacy if she chose to enter the race.
A July National Republican Senatorial Committee poll first reported by the Daily Caller News Foundation also found Crockett with a commanding lead if she were to enter the Democratic primary. Crockett won 35% of the vote with her closest opponent, Allred, clocking in with just 20% support.
Talarico and Allred are both vying for the Democratic nomination in what promises to be an expensive and bitter fight to advance to the general election. Talarico leads Allred in polling despite no prior statewide runs and trounced the two-time Senate candidate in fundraising during the year’s third quarter.
ROUND ROCK, TEXAS – SEPTEMBER 09: Democratic Texas State Rep. James Talarico speaks during a campaign launch rally on September 09, 2025 in Round Rock, Texas. Rep. Talarico announced earlier today that he will be running for U.S. Senate in Texas. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
Crockett said her looming decision will likely hinge on her campaign’s viability in a general election setting. Democrats have repeatedly failed to win big races in the Lonestar State after blowing through massive amounts of money.
“I think the key to winning Texas isn’t about looking at the current electorate. It’s about expanding the electorate,” Crockett continued. “If we can expand the electorate, then I will strongly be considering hopping in the Senate race.”
Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt are battling Cornyn in the Republican primary. The race has no clear frontrunner, according to recent polling and could head to a runoff election if no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote in the March 2026 primary.
Crockett is a vocal Trump critic who frequently spars with Republicans during congressional hearings and various social media platforms. She sparked controversy in March for referring to Republican Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott, who uses a wheelchair, as “Governor Hotwheels.”
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