Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) said that she is moving toward launching a Texas Senate run if Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) loses his competitive Republican primary.
“I’m going to be flat out with you and tell you that I don’t think that there’s a Democrat that can take out Cornyn,” the representative told Politico, “I think the [National Republican Senatorial Committee] knows that, which is why they are spending so much money in this primary to make sure that he is the nominee.”
She has already had “multiple conversations” with a possible campaign manager and is “about to spend a lot of money” to get polling data on her chances.
Crockett’s 30th Congressional District was redrawn in Texas’s mid-decade redistricting effort. She now lives in the 33rd Congressional District and faces competition from fellow Democratic Rep. Mark Veasey, the district’s current representative.
The congresswoman is known for her fiery social media presence and strong progressive views. If she entered the Texas Senate race, her main competitors would be state Rep. James Talarico and former Rep. Collin Allred, who lost last year to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), among others.
Allred has a small advantage over Talarico in a recent University of Houston poll, 46% to 42%. However, if Crockett and former Democratic Rep. Beto O’Rourke were to join the field, Crockett would lead with the support of 31% of Democratic primary voters.
Meanwhile, Cornyn is facing a tough primary challenge from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Paxton and Cornyn are essentially tied, with 34% and 33% of the Republican vote, respectively. Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-TX) trails at 22%.
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE ISSUES DOMINATING THE VIRGINIA ELECTION
Cornyn has been a senator from Texas since 2002, following his terms as the state’s attorney general and associate justice on the state Supreme Court. Paxton has attacked the Texas senator as a “Republican in name only,” but lost his early polling lead after more details emerged about his extramarital affair and recent divorce.
From Crockett’s perspective, she is giving herself some time to think before jumping into the race: “For me, I would be making a very last-minute decision because it’s not just about winning the primary. You gotta win the general.”