Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett said she won’t campaign for her party’s Texas Senate nominee, James Talarico, and that she doesn’t believe Black voters are enthusiastic about him.
“I will be campaigning downballot,” Ms. Crockett said Thursday when CNN asked if she would hit the trail with Mr. Talarico.
Ms. Crockett, a two-term congresswoman, lost to Mr. Talarico by 6 percentage points in the Senate primary.
She argued on the Thursday program that Texas voters need more motivation to go to the polls than just supporting Mr. Talarico, so she’s focused on “amplifying” candidates “that maybe are getting overshadowed.”
Ms. Crockett suggested that her hands were too full to help out Mr. Talarico.
“I’m running all over the country, and Texas is a big state,” she said. “I’m really invested in a number of candidates that I didn’t get to do anything for because I was running my own Senate race.”
As for Black voters and Mr. Talarico, “I don’t think that there is excitement,” said Ms. Crockett, who is a Black woman.
Ms. Crockett has expressed some frustration with her March primary loss to Mr. Talarico, calling it a “racist race.”
Specifically, she ripped the pro-Talarico attack ads that questioned her electability as “straight-up racist.”
The Texas Senate race is one of the most high-stakes midterm battles.
Mr. Talarico is facing Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who defeated Sen. John Cornyn in the Republican primary.
Like Ms. Crockett, Mr. Cornyn has not campaigned or fundraised for his former primary foe.
He called Mr. Paxton a “poor campaigner” and “lazy” in a recent interview with The Texas Tribune.
Cook Political Report rates the race a toss-up.
Democrats likely need to win in Texas to gain control of the Senate.
Texas has not elected a Democratic senator since 1988, and the state favored President Trump by almost 14 points in 2024.
Mr. Trump stepped into the race on Thursday, attending a Texas fundraiser for Mr. Paxton.
