New polling results released Friday, December 12 show Rep. Jasmine Crockett with a clear lead in Texas’s Democratic Senate primary, underscoring her growing influence and the party’s internal strains. The Crockett poll, conducted by Texas Southern University among likely Democratic voters, puts Crockett at 51 percent, ahead of state Rep. James Talarico at 43 percent, with 6 percent undecided.
The survey marks the first public polling since Crockett entered the race, a move that prompted Rep. Colin Allred to exit. Some Democrats fault party leadership for failing to intervene. “They have a ton of tools they could’ve used and they didn’t use them,” one operative told Politico, adding, “They don’t have the political power they once had … but it’s evident how weak they are institutionally.”
Crockett framed her decision as a response to demand for a larger platform. In her announcement speech, she said “a lot of people” urged her to stay in the House, but “what we need is for me to have a bigger voice.”
The Dallas congresswoman’s rise has come with controversy. She previously drew headlines after labeling murdered conservative activist Charlie Kirk a racist and remarking that only “two Caucasians” opposed a House resolution honoring him. She has also faced an ethics complaint over undisclosed stock holdings and criticism for alleging Republican ties to Jeffrey Epstein. Addressing that claim, Crockett told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins that she “never said that it was that Jeffrey Epstein.”
Polling has encouraged her run. In October, Crockett told radio host Lurie Daniel Favors, “Every other day there’s a poll that comes out that makes it clear that I can win the primary for the U.S. Senate race in Texas.” Yet she later said she does not “really believe in traditional polling” when discussing the general election.
Republicans see opportunity. A GOP strategist called Crockett “too extreme and too far-left for even Texas Democrats,” as Texas remains solidly red.
