Representative Jasmine Crockett took to X on Tuesday to chastise those asking whether she is endorsing Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico, saying the energy would be better spent opposing his Republican opponent, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Her post came a day after her PAC posted a list of endorsed county and local candidates that did not feature Talarico. Crockett has not actively campaigned for the Democratic nominee and has said she is focused on down-ballot candidates.
Newsweek reached out to Talarico's campaign and Crockett's office via email on Tuesday evening for comment. Talarico narrowly pulled ahead of Paxton in polling this month, as Democrats hope he can become the first from their party elected to a statewide office in Texas since 1994. In a Big Data Poll of 698 likely Texas voters this week, Talarico led Paxton with 44.6 percent of the vote to 41.6 percent once voters who only “lean” toward one candidate are excluded.
A Texas Public Opinion Research survey of 1,007 likely Texan voters from September 19 to September 22 found Talarico leading Paxton by five points, with 49 percent of the vote against 44 percent. A Texas Southern University survey gave Talarico a lead of just one point, with 47 percent vs. 46 percent for Paxton and 3 percent for Libertarian Ted Brown. This survey of 1,800 Texan likely voters took place from September 15 to September 19, with a 2.31 percent margin of error.
Brandon Rottinghaus, political science professor at Houston University, told Newsweek an endorsement from Crockett might help close "the racial rift" inside the Democratic Party. "A formal, full-throated endorsement from Representative Crockett would go a long way to the reconciliation the party needs if it’s going to be competitive in this cycle and future cycles. They won’t always be running against an unpopular Republican.
Unity is key for Democrats to be competitive in purple Texas," Rottinghaus said. Crockett has pushed back on that framing. Asked on CNN whether she'd campaign for Talarico, she pointed to Beto O'Rourke's failed 2018 Senate run as a cautionary tale of Democrats concentrating all their energy on a single Texas race.
Voters need "a variety of races and candidates to be enthused about" to drive turnout, arguing there should be more focus on down-ballot races. She criticized Talarico in the lead-up to the primary for abandoning the fight for the House, but told supporters in her March concession statement that they “must rally around our nominees and win” and that she would continue working to elect Democrats “up and down the ballot.” “Texas is primed to turn blue and we must remain united because this is bigger than any one person,” she said in a statement following her narrow defeat. But she has failed to explicitly endorse Talarico.
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