Republican meddling rocks Senate Democratic primary in final days

The Democratic primary for U.S. Senate is closing with a fierce debate that has animated it from the start: Who would Republicans rather face in November?

The leading candidates, U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Dallas and state Rep. James Talarico of Austin, have each pitched voters on the idea that they are a better bet for November. Crockett has vowed to turn out new voters to finally flip the state, while Talarico has advocated a broader strategy that includes reaching out to Republicans.

Some Republicans have signaled they would rather face Crockett — and Talarico’s side wants voters to know it.

A pro-Talarico super PAC is running ads online in the final days of Tuesday’s primary warning that Republicans are “boosting” Crockett and “spending thousands of dollars to make sure that Jasmine Crockett gets elected.” The ads link to a report about how a conservative group has sent out texts highlighting Crockett’s hard line against ICE and how Gov. Greg Abbott has featured her prominently in ads.

Crockett has scoffed at the GOP meddling narrative, questioning why Republicans would be so clear about a preference, and has urged Democrats to tune out the GOP messaging.

“They love to kind of stir us up and have us decide to play off their rhetoric,” she told CNN last week, drawing a parallel to Republicans who egged on Democrats in the 2024 election to abandon President Joe Biden. “Democrats need to focus on the prize.”

Talarico has denounced the GOP interference in the Democratic primary.

“I would tell every Republican elected official to stay out of our business and stay out of our primary,” Talarico told a Dallas TV reporter last week when asked about Abbott’s ads featuring Crockett.

The back and forth over GOP meddling gets at a broader debate in the primary about who is better positioned to win a Senate election for Texas Democrats for the first time since 1988. The party is optimistic given the national political environment and the potential that Attorney General Ken Paxton, who has a history of scandals, could emerge as the GOP nominee as he takes on longtime incumbent John Cornyn.

Cornyn has called Crockett’s candidacy a “gift” and warned that Talarico could be “dangerous” as his party’s nominee.

Paxton said Monday he does not have a preference between Crockett and Talarico. “They’re both so liberal,” Paxton told Dallas radio host Mark Davis.

Independent polling has painted an inconclusive picture about which Democratic candidate would be more competitive in November. A University of Houston survey in late January tested an array of potential general election matchups between Crockett or Talarico and GOP candidates — and showed no one had a decisive advantage.

A Crockett campaign spokesperson, in response to this story, made the case that the candidate’s “durability” — as shown by favorability ratings in multiple polls — amid the meddling shows she has what it takes to win in November.

“Part of electability is being able to weather the storm,” the spokesperson, Karrol Rimal said, adding that Republicans “who underestimate her do so at their own peril.”

Republicans have signaled in some cases that they clearly see a more compelling foil in Crockett, who has been aggressive in her criticism of President Donald Trump — who won the state by 14 percentage points in 2024 — and has criticized the increasingly crucial voting bloc of Hispanic voters who have drifted toward Trump. Crockett previously downplayed the need to convert Trump’s supporters, saying that was “not our goal,” though she has since voiced confidence in her ability to win over independents and moderate Republicans.

Playing in the other side’s competitive primary is a well-worn campaign tactic, and one some Republicans have undertaken to boost Crockett, whom many believe would be the easier matchup in a general election.

American Sovereignty, a conservative group, has sent texts to voters calling Crockett “ICE’s worst nightmare” and linked to a debate clip in which she calls to “clean house” at the Department of Homeland Security. Funding for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and debates over whether to dismantle the organization in the wake of two killings of American citizens in Minneapolis, has been a key motivator for Democrats this year.

And long before Crockett jumped into the race, the National Republican Senatorial Committee — which has made no secret of its belief that Crockett would be a weak general election candidate — put out polling showing her leading the Democratic field as far back as July.

The White House has also joined the fray, with Trump’s deputy chief of staff, James Blair, posting on social media that Republicans “should be very concerned about Jasmine Crockett’s surge” and calling her “a real threat.” He disputed that his message was intended as a way of boosting Crockett to the nomination, saying, “We don’t want that. She can win in Texas.”

The GOP campaign to effectively prop up Crockett has fueled some of the more tense moments in the primary. After a pro-Talarico group, Lone Star Rising, released an ad citing the apparent GOP preference for Crockett — telling Democrats, “If she wins, we lose” — Crockett accused the group of darkening her skin and called the line of attack “straight-up racist.”

Other Republicans have used Crockett for a more traditional tactic: as a villain to motivate Republicans who don’t like her to turn out this primary season. Several GOP candidates have included Crockett in ads depicting high-profile Democratic figures as chief antagonists, grouping her alongside self-described democratic socialists.

Abbott is facing little competition in his primary, but he’s put Crockett in at least two ads that ran throughout early voting, backed by millions of dollars. In congressional Republican primaries, Crockett can be found in ads across the state from candidates who are not running against her but are banking on their voters being motivated to turn out against her.

Tom Sell, in the West Texas-based 19th Congressional District, included Crockett’s image while describing “woke liberal extremists” alongside New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. A group backing GOP candidate Alex Mealer in a Houston-area district depicted Crockett alongside Vice President Kamala Harris as the narrator promises Mealer will “crush the woke left.”

Crockett has even come up in state legislative races. State Rep. Marc LaHood has run a TV ad against his primary challenger, David McArthur, claiming McArthur’s “big insurance backers have spent $6 million electing radical Democrats” — and then names Crockett as the sole example.

In the CNN interview, Crockett cast some doubt on the idea that Republicans want to run against her, saying, “I don’t know who [telegraphs] who it is that they want to go against.”

“Right now the governor of Texas is spending over $3 million specifically against me, running ads, so it doesn’t sound like they want to go against me,” she said.

However, she added that the GOP is “very good at throwing bombs” and pointed to the 2024 presidential election as an example.

“They did the exact same thing when they decided to tell all the Democrats that, Oh, Joe Biden is old, and, oh, he is senile, so therefore you guys need to get rid of Joe Biden,” Crockett said. “And so, what did we do? We went ahead and got rid of Joe Biden, and at the end of the day, what did they do? They elected an old, senile conman instead.”

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This article first appeared on The Texas Tribune.