Rising star Talarico topples progressive firebrand Crockett in high-stakes Texas Senate Democratic primary

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AUSTIN, TEXAS– James Talarico, a Democratic state lawmaker from Texas with a surging national profile, defeated Rep.Jasmine Crockett, a nationally known politician, progressive firebrand, and vocal critic and foil of PresidentDonald Trump, to win the Democratic Senate primary in Texas, according to The Associated Press.

Talarico, 36, will now try to become the first Democrat in nearly four decades to win a Senate election in Texas, as he faces off against the winner of a bruising Republican primary runoff between longtime incumbent Sen.John Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

This year’s Senateshowdown in Texasis one of a handful across the country that could determine if Republicans hold their majority in the chamber in the midterm elections.The GOP currently controls the chamber 53-47.

“Tonight our campaign is shocking the nation.We are still waiting for an official call, but we are confident in this movement we’ve built together.Every vote must be counted.Every voice must be heard,” Talarico told supporters in a not-quite victory speech late Tuesday night, at his primary night event in Austin, Texas.

The Associated Press, a couple of hours later, early on Wednesday morning, called the race for Talarico.

Democratic Senate candidate state Rep.

In a statement Wednesday morning, Crockett conceded and said she had called Talarico to congratulate him on his victory.

“Texas is primed to turn blue and we must remain united because this is bigger than any one person,” Crockett urged.

Hours earlier, Crockett, pointing to a legal dispute over extending voting hours in Dallas, her home base, told supporters not to expect final results on primary night.

Voting issues in Dallas and in Talarico’s home base of Williamson County north of Austin led to confusion and voters being turned away from polling locations.

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“We don’t have any of the results because there was a lot of confusion today,” Crockett told her supporters gathered at an election watch party in Dallas.“I won’t be back tonight because I have no idea of when we’re going to get results.And I fully anticipate it won’t be until tomorrow.”

Crockett blamed Republicans and charged, “that people have been disenfranchised.”

“Unfortunately, this is what Republicans like to do.And, so, they specifically targeted Dallas County, and I think we all know why,” she claimed.

Crockett’s claims came after the Texas Supreme Court knocked down a lower judge’s ruling earlier in the evening to keep polling places open longer in Dallas and Williamson counties.The Texas high court mandated that any votes cast after the initial closing time be separated.Democrats had pushed for polling locations to be open longer amid polling location restrictions that resulted from Republicans and Democrats not holding joint primaries.

Rep.Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, a Democratic candidate for U.S.Senate, speaks during a primary election watch party Tuesday, March 3, 2026, in Dallas(Tony Gutierrez)/AP Photo)

Voters ran into confusion on Tuesday amid the decision of certain counties — including heavily populated Dallas — to separate out the locations where voters could cast ballots for Republican and Democrat primaries.

Talarico also spoke out against what he claimed was “voter suppression.”

“Every vote must be counted.Every voice must be heard.The voter suppression in my home county and in Congresswoman Crockett’s home county underscores the gravity of this moment,” he argued.

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In the final weeks leading up to Tuesday’s Democratic primary, race became a key factor in the showdown between Talarico, a former middle school teacher and Presbyterian seminarian who is considered a rising star among Democrats, and Crockett, a civil rights attorney first elected to Congress in 2022.

Texas State Rep.James Talarico, left, and Rep.Jasmine Crockett faced off for the 2026 Democratic Senate nomination in right-leaning Texas.(Bob Daemmrich/Getty Images)

Talarico, who is White,was accused a month agoby an influencer of calling former Rep.Colin Allred, a former rival for the 2026 Senate nomination, a “mediocre Black man.”

Allred, the 2024 Democratic Senate nominee, was making a second straight run after losing two years ago to Republican Sen.Ted Cruz by eight points.

He ended his Senate campaign late last year, just before Crockett announced her candidacy.Allred, a former college football star who played professionally in the NFL and later became a civil rights attorney, is now running for his old House seat.

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Morgan Thompson, the influencer who goes by the username @morga_tt on TikTok, in asocial media postclaimed Talarico told her in a private conversation that he had “signed up to run against a mediocre Black man, not a formidable, intelligent, Black woman.”

Former Rep.Colin Allred of Texas, left, and state Rep.James Talarico.(MIGUEL J.RODRIGUEZ CARRILLO/AFP;Bob Daemmrich/The Texas Tribune/Bloomberg)

Pushing back againstThompson’s characterizationof their conversation, Talarico said in a statement, “In my praise of Congresswoman Crockett, I described Congressman Allred’s method of campaigning as mediocre — but his life and service are not.I would never attack him on the basis of race.”

Allred, responding in asocial media videoon Monday, said: “James, if you want to compliment Black women, just do it.Just do it.Don’t do it while also tearing down a Black man.”

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The 44-year-old Crockett, who is Black, said in a statement that Allred “drew a line in the sand.”

“He made it clear that he did not take allegations of an attack on him as simply another day in the neighborhood, but more importantly, his post wasn’t about himself,” Crockett, who was endorsed by Allred, said.“It was a moment that he decided to stand for all people who have been targeted and talked about in a demeaning way as our country continues to be divided.”

Jasmine Crockett announces 2026 Senate campaign

Rep.Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, speaks after announcing her run in the Democratic primary for U.S.Senate Monday, Dec.8, 2025, in Dallas.(LM Otero/AP Photo)

A couple of weeks later, Crockett claimed that a Talarico-aligned super PAC had darkened her skin tone in an ad and said it was “straight up racist.”

She also argued late last month that talk that she wasn’t electable statewide was a “dog whistle” that was “tearing down a Black woman,” and that she was the “most qualified” candidate.

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Talarico, who was first elected to the Texas House in 2018 by flipping a red district in northeast Austin and surrounding suburbs, highlighted his ability to win over Republican voters.He campaigned across the state, including in areas where Democratic candidates don’t often show up.And he questioned whether Crockett could run a competitive general election campaign.

While dramatically outraising and outspending Crockett the past two months, Talarico cast himself as the underdog in the primary battle against the better-known congresswoman.

The two-term Crockett, who represents primarily Black and Hispanic majority neighborhoods in Dallas and surrounding inner suburbs south of the city, has grabbed plenty of attention for her clashes with Republicans on the high-profile House Oversight Committee, including one with then-Rep.Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia in 2024 that went viral.

She also made headlines last year for calling longtime Republican Gov.Greg Abbottof Texas “Governor Hot Wheels.”

Talarico, who speaks openly about his faith and how it shapes his progressive policy agenda, last year started garnering national attention through a slew of social media appearances that went viral.Also boosting his profile were his TikTok videos, which have grabbed millions of views, and his appearance last July on Joe Rogan’s top-rated podcast.

Texas state Rep.James Talarico, a U.S.Senate candidate, greets supporters after a campaign rally in San Antonio, Texas, on March 1, 2026.

Rogan suggested during the interview that Talarico should run for president.

A month later, Talarico was a regular on the cable news networks, conducting dozens of national media interviews, as he and dozens of his fellow Democrats in the Texas House fled the state for weeks, to delay the eventual Trump-led redistricting push in Texas to create up to five more right-leaning congressional seats

Talarico launched his Senate campaign a month later, in September.

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Last month, Talarcio grabbed even more national attention whenhis appearance on “The Late Showwith Stephen Colbert” was bumped off broadcast TV and instead appeared on YouTube.Colbert accused his network, CBS, of blocking the interview by citing guidelines from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

The controversy appeared to boost Talarico, with his campaign saying they hauled in $2.5 million in fundraising in the 24 hours “following his censored” interview.

Republicans didn’t wait for the official call in the Democratic Senate primary to start taking aim at Talarico.

“James Talarico is an open borders, Trump-hating radical who can never be allowed to set foot in the U.S.Senate,” National Republican Senatorial Committee Communications Director Joanna Rodriguez charged in a statement Tuesday evening.

Paxton, in a primary night speech in Dallas, claimed that Talarico is a “far-left radical who wants to abolish ICE.Says God is non-binary.I’m not even sure I know what that means and thinks Christians are commanded to put boys in girls sports.He will do nothing more than be a puppet for Chuck Schumer and the national Democrats.”

�should be running for the Senate in California, not in Texas.They’re way out of the mainstream in Texas.”

Meanwhile, Talarico was earning praise from both the center and left of the Democratic Party.

“Talarico’s victory shows that voters are hungry for Democrats to fight boldly for workers, corporate accountability, and increased quality of life — not just run against Donald Trump.Talking to voters, it’s clear they are both inspired by Talarico’s economic populist message and believe it can win in the general election,” Progressive Change Campaign Committee co-founder Adam Green said.

And Adam Jentleson, president of the center-left Searchlight Institute, said Talarico’s victory “was a refreshing break with the past of running on division and polarization, and an embrace of candidates who can unite broad swaths of Americans behind the big tent, supermajority coalition we need.”

� Alec Schemmel and Leo Briceno contributed to this report