Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, said race was a major factor in her Democratic primary loss to Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico, arguing that racism, not politics, determined the outcome, as reported [1] by Breitbart.
Speaking after the primary, Crockett said:
“The reality is that there was a lot of races, not a lot, it was racist. It was a racist race. It is what it is, right? But we live in America as y’all are celebrating 250, okay? We know what this country is.”
Crockett rejected suggestions that she should have campaigned more closely with Talarico during the race.
Instead, she defended her decision to focus on supporting down-ballot candidates, noting that she endorsed five Black men in Texas runoff elections and that all five advanced to the November ballot.
She said:
“The best thing that I can do for James Talarico isn’t me standing on a stage with him. It is the fact that I endorsed five candidates in the runoff who all happen to be black men in the state of Texas and every single one of them won.”
Crockett also argued that encouraging turnout by giving voters multiple candidates to support is more effective than appearing alongside a single statewide candidate.
“People keep trying to say, ‘Well, Jasmine has to go and hold his hand.’ No, I don’t.”
She added:
“If you can give people more than one thing to vote for, then you have a better chance of getting them out to the polls.”
James Talarico defeated Crockett in the Texas Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate in March. The victory came after weeks of polling had shown Crockett holding a sizable lead.
Talarico will face Republican Sen. John Cornyn in the November general election.
Crockett also said she does not believe Black voters have fully united behind Talarico’s campaign and confirmed she will not attend the upcoming Texas Democratic Party convention.
Discussing the state of the race, she said:
“I’ve not heard a bunch of kumbaya.”
She added:
“People don’t seem to be convinced at this point, but there’s a lot of time between now and November.”
When asked whether she plans to campaign for Talarico before the general election, Crockett said she has not made a decision and remains focused on local races.
“I have no idea. I am more focused on down-ballot races in general.”