Jasmine Crockett Is Looking to Leave the House for the Senate — Who Is Running Against Her?

It's no secret that Rep. Jasmine Crockett is often described as a rising star in the Democratic Party. Believe it or not, politics was not always the plan for Crockett, whose life was changed twice while she was an undergraduate student at Rhodes College. Crockett told Darling Magazine that her breakout performance in "Little Shop of Horrors" during her sophomore year prompted an invitation to join the mock trial team the following year.

She was told by the professor who led the team that she had "too much personality" to become a certified public accountant, which was her trajectory at the time. The next year, while Crockett was a junior, she and a few other Black students were victims of hate crimes. When The Cochran Firm was brought in to help, Crockett met the woman who would become her mentor. More than 20 years later, Crockett is running for Senate in Texas. Who will she be running against?

On Dec. 8, 2025, Crockett announced her intention to run while speaking to a room full of supporters in Dallas. The Representative from Texas did it in the only way she could, via a powerful video. In it, Crockett is looking off to the side while audio of President Donald Trump's insults plays. In the past, Trump has repeatedly called Crockett a "low IQ person" and said if she's a rising star in the Democratic Party, then they are in trouble. A title card reads, "Crockett for U.S. Senate."

According to The New York Times, Crockett's Senate run completely changed the landscape of that race in Texas. She entered the campaign hours before the deadline, which was previously comprised of "Colin Allred, a former Dallas congressman who ran for the U.S. Senate last year, and James Talarico, a state representative with a growing national profile in the party." Allred has since dropped out and is hoping to return to the House. Talarico has welcomed Crockett to the primary race.

Crockett spoke for 40 minutes while in Dallas, telling her supporters she needs a bigger voice. "We need to make sure that we are going to stop all the hell that is raining down on all of our people," said Crockett. Whichever Democrat wins the primary will be running against the GOP incumbent Sen. John Cornyn, who, according to NBC News, is facing several primary challenges.

When it comes to Crockett and Talarico, the Houston Chronicle thinks she is the new favorite. As the current Representative of the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Crockett has an advantage over Talarico. The DFW voters represent 20 percent of the "1 million Democrats who voted in each of the last two midterm primary cycles in Texas." Crockett is also an effective fundraiser, having raised $6.5 million for her re-election campaign to Congress.

She could have an edge in Harris County, the biggest in Texas, because Crockett attended the University of Houston. Finally, if Crockett can appeal to female voters more than Talarico can, she will earn the trust of the 57 percent of the women who make up the Democratic primary vote, which is on March 3, 2026.