Jasmine Crockett isn’t just in the conversation — she is the conversation in Texas politics right now. She hasn’t even announced a Senate run, and she’s already leading the Democratic field. That’s not buzz — that’s leverage.
Crockett told SiriusXM’s “The Lurie Daniel Favors Show” that she “will strongly be considering” a run for U.S. Senate — and the motivation isn’t ego, it’s backlash. Texas Republicans pushed through a mid-cycle redistricting map that moved Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett out of her own district, and even though she says she and her team are waiting for the court to issue a final ruling on whether the new district lines will go into effect, Crockett isn’t exactly the “go quietly” type. As she put it:
“If you want to take my seat of 766,000 away, I feel like there has to be some karma in that to where I take your seat that is for 30 million away.”
This is not just a revenge tour. It’s strategy. Democratic voters — especially voters of color — are tired of polished speeches and poll-tested emotional restraint. Crockett built a national following by sounding like actual people do when they’re fed up. When Republicans tried to censure her earlier this year, it only boosted her authenticity. Beltway insiders heard “too brash.” Voters heard “finally, somebody fighting.”
And that’s what makes her viable in a state Democrats haven’t cracked statewide in 30 years. She’s not promising to turn Texas blue by being polite, but by expanding who shows up.
She said it plainly: “The primary is the primary. That’s cool, but you got to win the general. So we are doing some testing here shortly to see if I can expand the electorate.”
The numbers back her up. An NRSC poll — important note: Republicans commissioned it — shows her leading with 35 percent support among Democratic voters. A University of Houston/Texas Southern poll has her at 31 percent, ahead of every other potential candidate, including household names like Beto O’Rourke.
And this is the part some pundits keep missing: if Democrats want to win Texas, they don’t just need a candidate with ideas, they need a candidate who sounds like the people who’ve stopped voting. The millions who feel unheard, overcharged and politically unseen. The ones who tuned out after 2024 because nothing in politics sounded like them.
To them, Crockett doesn’t read as “angry.” She reads as accurate.
If she jumps in, she’s not just testing the electorate, she’s testing a theory: that connection matters more than caution, and that the loudest candidate might finally be the one speaking for the people who’ve been quiet the longest.
In other words: Texas might not be changing parties — but the party might finally be changing its voice.
Lindsey Granger is a News Nation contributor and co-host of The Hill’s commentary show “Rising.” This column is an edited transcription of her on-air commentary.
