Jasmine Crockett Enters U.S. Senate Race, Taking on Talarico in Democratic Primary

Dallas-area Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett is making a run for the Senate. 

Crockett filed to run on Monday morning, the Texas Tribune reports, hours ahead of a planned address in which she was expected to announce her plans for future office. For months, Crockett has fueled speculation surrounding her prospective run for a seat in the U.S. Senate, a decision complicated by courtroom back-and-forth over which congressional maps would be used in the 2026 midterm elections. 

She will face state House Rep. James Talarico in the Democratic primary, and the party’s nominee will take on the winner of the Republican race between sitting Sen. John Cornyn, Attorney General Ken Paxton and Congressman Wesley Hunt next November. 

After two terms in Congress, Crockett has gained prominence for her outspoken criticism of President Donald Trump and his allies. Reports suggest that Crockett was encouraged to run for Senate after an early poll showed her leading Democrats Talarico, Colin Allred and Beto O’Rourke in the race for the seat. O’Rourke has stated he will not seek the Senate seat, and Allred ended his campaign for Senate early Monday morning, citing a desire to avoid a drawn-out primary process.

“In the past few days, I’ve come to believe that a bruising Senate Democratic primary and runoff would prevent the Democratic Party from going into this critical election unified against the danger posed to our communities and our Constitution by Donald Trump and one of his Republican bootlickers Paxton, Cornyn, or Hunt,” the Allred campaign said in a statement. 

Allred has now filed to run for Congress in Congressional District 33, where he will face incumbent Julie Johnson, who filled the seat in 2024 when Allred made his first bid for Senate. During an interview with CNN, Allred called Crockett “a friend” but ultimately declined to endorse her theoretical run at that point, stating that “he’d have more to say” at a later date. 

In a statement to The Dallas Morning News, Talarico’s campaign welcomed Crockett’s last-minute campaign decision.

“We’re building a movement in Texas — fueled by record-breaking grass-roots fundraising and 10,000 volunteers who are putting in the work to defeat the billionaire mega-donors and puppet politicians who have taken over our state,” the statement said. “Our movement is rooted in unity over division — so we welcome Congresswoman Crockett into this race.”

Congressman Marc Veasey is expected to announce a campaign for Crockett’s district 30 seat, The Dallas Morning News reports. Crockett’s pastor, the Rev. Frederick Haynes III, also filed for the seat on Monday morning. The deadline for candidates to file for the 2026 midterms is 6:00 p.m. today.