By Tevon Blair ·Updated March 5, 2026 < /> Getting your Trinity Audio player ready… Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett ends her three-month bid for Texas’ United States Senate seat after her opponent, State Representative James Talarico, led with more than 144,000 votes during the March 3 primary.
Voters in Dallas county, located in Crockett’s district, were turned away from polling sites after arriving at what used to be countywide voting centers. In previous elections, residents could vote at any polling site to cast a ballot, however a decision from the Dallas County Republican Party shifted to a precinct-based Election Day process. A December 2025 statement confirmed.
“I can tell you now people have been disenfranchised,” said on election night by Crockett.
The new decision caused confusion among voters as they were turned away and required to vote at their assigned precinct. While a lower court ordered Dallas County polling sites to remain open for an additional two hours on Tuesday, the Texas Supreme Court blocked the decision. Polling sites in the county were now required to separate any ballots cast by voters who were not in line before 7 p.m. Voters in Williamson county were also impacted by this decision.
As of February, the Texas Secretary of State’s office confirmed that 18.7 million residents were registered to vote ahead of the primary election. Democrats saw 2.3 million in voter turnout compared to just 2.1 million voters who cast a ballot in the Republican primary. The enthusiasm among democratic voters led to a turnout that broke a Texas record for a midterm primary election since at least 1970. Election results from both Talarico and Crockett expand the expected turnout possibility for a statewide Texas democratic primary.
The two candidates aligned closely on their policy stances, however, running their campaigns with different approaches on how and who to engage as possible voters. While Crockett focused on targeting disengaged voters to expand her already existing base of supporters, Talarico used faith as a >launched her ‘Texas Tough’ campaign in early December with the intent of leading the party to the November general election. Her 22 policy priorities listed on her campaign website display what she planned to bring to the Senate, shifting her national voice from a district-level viewpoint to representing Texas on national issues. Affordability, healthcare, immigration reform and foreign policy are among the key issues she was set to address.
When the results were called, Crockett made it clear to the one million Texans who voted for her to remain engaged to support the full statewide Democratic ticket.
“This is about the future of all 30 million Texans and getting America back on track. With the primary behind us, Democrats must rally around our nominees and win,” said Crockett in a social media post. “I’m committed to doing my part and will continue working to elect democrats up and down the ballot.”
The second-term Congresswoman joins many other Black women candidates who gained national visibility in electoral politics seeking positions historically never obtained by their demographic. Today, only four Black women have been elected in the U.S. Senate, and one has been appointed. Furthermore, America has yet to elect a Black woman governor or to the nation’s highest office, as president.
Since Crockett launched her Senate campaign, she has been critiqued for not being ‘electable.’ This is a frequent conversation that Black and women candidates often experience unlike traditional white male candidates running at any level of government.
“Electability is rooted in racism,” E.J. Carrion, a Fort Worth political activist, told Politico. “James [Talarico] is less threatening to people, and I think if just those people who say that actually voted for the most qualified candidate, you wouldn’t have a problem.”
Leading up to Election Day, polling showed that Crockett had strong support among Black voters while Talarico had a tighter grasp on white and Hispanic voters. Now that Talarico stands as the Texas Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate seat, he is tasked with earning the support of Crockett’s base.
Tuesday’s results also led to Crockett’s friend and pastor Rev. Frederick Haynes III to become the Democratic nominee set to be on the ballot in November for Texas’ 30th Congressional District. If he wins during the November general election, he will replace Crockett, representing her district, when her term ends January 3, 2027.
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