Austin state Rep. James Talarico beat Dallas Rep. Jasmine Crockett in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, prevailing in a tight race that boosted the party’s hopes for a statewide win in November.
With all but one of Texas’ counties and 85% of its polling locations reporting, Talarico had received 53.1% of the vote compared to 45.6% for Crockett, according to the Texas Secretary of State’s Office. The Associated Press early Wednesday morning called the race in favor of Talarico, who got a surge of exposure and financial backing at the start of early voting after his appearance on “The Late Show” with Stephen Colbert was scrapped from the CBS broadcast but viewed by millions on YouTube.
“We’re about to take back Texas,” Talarico said in a Wednesday morning statement, referring to Democrats’ quest of winning a statewide election for the first time in more than 30 years.
In the November general election, Talarico will face the winner of the Republican primary, which is headed to a May 26 runoff between incumbent Sen. John Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Results were delayed in places such as Dallas County, where Crockett is based. A judge there ordered polling locations to stay open until 9 p.m. — two hours after the usual time — because hundreds of voters arrived at polling locations where they thought they could vote, according to KERA. The Texas Supreme Court subsequently ordered all Dallas County ballots cast by voters who got in line after 7 p.m. to be separated.
A judge in El Paso also ordered polls to stay open past the usual 7 p.m. cutoff time. And there were issues with delays at polling locations in Williamson County, north of Austin.
Crockett's campaign said Tuesday night she planned to sue over the voting issues in Dallas, according to the AP, but on Wednesday morning she conceded the race to Talarico.
“Texas is primed to turn blue and we must remain united because this is bigger than any one person,” Crockett wrote in a statement posted to social media. “This is about the future of all 30 million Texans and getting America back on track.”
Ahmad R. Hassan placed a distant third in the Democratic primary, garnering support from 1.3% of voters.
Talarico, 36, is an eighth-generation Texan and a former San Antonio middle school teacher who recently earned his Mastery of Divinity degree from the Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary.
Talarico first won election to the Texas House in 2018, flipping a district then-President Donald Trump had won two years earlier. During the first legislative special session in 2025, he emerged as one of the leaders ofa Democratic walkoutto protest the Republican-led congressional redistricting. Talaricodeclared his Senate candidacysoon after the second special session ended in September.
Crockett led Talarico in most of the polling, starting months before her formal entry into the primary in December. But Talarico dominated the campaign finance struggle, outraising not only Crockett but even the incumbent Republican Cornyn.
A January debate between Crockett and Talarico in Georgetown showed little daylight between the two candidates on most major issues. Both committed themselves to dramatic reforms, if not abolition, of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and to the impeachment of U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem. Both said they would vote to raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans. And each avoided personal attacks on the other.
That civility didn't last. Within days, a Crockett supporter revealed that attack ads against Talarico were coming.
In early February, former congressman Colin Allred, who dropped out of the Democratic Senate primary in December, publicly accused Talarico of having referred to Allred as "a mediocre Black man" and endorsed Crockett. Talarico called the allegations a “mischaracterization of a private conversation,” adding he had called Allred’s 2024 Senate campaign against incumbent Sen. Ted Cruz “mediocre,” but not his “life and service.” In her own statement, Crockett said it was “unfortunate that at the start of Black History Month, this is what we're facing."
A pro-Talarico super PAC soon launched an attack ad of its own against Crockett, which argued she would be unable to win a general election against the eventual Republican nominee. Crockett released a statement calling Talarico – who has said, if elected, he would fight to ban such super PACs – a hypocrite.
Talarico's fundraising edge and aggressive ad campaign helped turn the race in his favor.
Copyright 2026 Houston Public Media News 88.7