GOP Cheers as Jasmine Crockett’s Senate Bid Roils Texas Democrats

Paul Riverbank, 12/18/2025Rep. Jasmine Crockett shakes up Texas Democrats, sparking internal rifts and GOP celebration.

Jasmine Crockett draws sharp lines, not just on policy, but in the way she carries herself. Critics inside her own ranks view her as unpredictable—someone who seems to relish confrontation far more than consensus. James Carville, never one for euphemism, tossed aside the usual consultant-speak: “She violates the first rule of politics, which is, you always make it about the voters and never about yourself.” Concerns that used to bubble beneath the surface have spilled over; one pollster in Austin even remarked that voters who otherwise might have left Attorney General Ken Paxton’s box blank might feel compelled to vote for him if it’s Crockett staring at them from the other side of the ballot. The fear? She almost scares some Democrats as much as Republicans do.

Still, others insist she’s precisely the shock to the system Democrats have failed to deliver for three decades. Matt Angle, who heads the Lone Star Project, shoved back on the narrative that Crockett is a gift to the GOP: “Jasmine’s challenge is to prove people wrong that she somehow benefits the Republicans by being in the race.” It may be an uphill climb. An unnamed House Democrat cut straight to the point: “She might win a primary, but she ain’t winning a general in Texas.” Another colleague was less oblique: “This is a bad decision.” Beneath the surface, there’s real unease—not just about losing the Senate race, but about the potential ripple effect her candidacy could have up and down the ballot. Control of Congress very well could hinge on how Texans read the top line.

Meanwhile, one group that’s not splitting hairs? Texas Republicans. Their delight was barely disguised. Sen. John Cornyn all but grinned on cue, quipping that Crockett’s entry felt like a “gift,” while House Speaker Mike Johnson called her campaign “one of the greatest things to happen to the Republican Party in a long, long time.” If you listen closely, you’ll hear whispers that GOP strategists had a hand in cheering her along, convinced she makes the opposition's road steeper.

But Crockett isn’t just facing resistance from old-guard Democrats. She’s up against state Rep. James Talarico in the March primary—a legislator with statewide recognition for bucking Republican redistricting. To his credit, Talarico welcomed her and called for unity, but the competitive edge was unmistakable. Early polling from Texas Southern University gave Crockett an eight-point advantage among Democratic primary voters—a solid, though not insurmountable, lead.

For many Democratic strategists, though, the real anxieties don’t spark from primary poll numbers. It’s the general election looming ahead, where the red hue of the state asserts itself most brutally. Donald Trump snagged Texas by double digits in the last cycle. Even the best Democratic turnout machines have sputtered at the finish line time and again. Progressive fire and anti-Trump speeches energize a base—sure—but do they sway voters still sitting on the fence in Houston exurbs or Rio Grande Valley suburbs? Austin pollster Nancy Zdunkewicz distilled it: “The burden is on her to show that she can be persuasive and not produce a backlash.”

Thanks to a resurfaced dispute from her early legal career—where Crockett settled a case with Budget Rent A Car over a vehicle rented by a then-convicted robber—doubts about her judgment periodically ignite. Yet, in Washington, she’s made a name for herself challenging the justice system and speaking loudly for criminal justice reform.

Crockett, far from retreating, has fired back: “Democrats need to be laser-focused on Republicans doing real damage in Texas—not members of Congress with the courage to go toe-to-toe when Texans are under attack.” For her, the party’s fixation with internal division is not just misguided; it’s wasting a critical window of opportunity.

There’s a persistent question hanging over all this: Have Democrats lost statewide in Texas for so long because they’re too radical, or not nearly bold enough? Katherine Fischer from Texas Majority PAC captured a sentiment that’s quietly gaining ground: “If anyone really knew how to win in Texas, we’d have done it already.”

So, as Democrats weigh rallying behind a candidate like Crockett—combustible, unapologetic, and undeniably bold—they’re contending with more than a referendum on her politics. They’re voting, in a sense, on the party’s very blueprint for surviving in a state Republicans have locked down for generations. And this time, nobody is pretending to know which gamble—bold or cautious—will finally break a three-decade Texas drought.

In Texas politics, the arrival of Rep. Jasmine Crockett in this year’s Senate race wasn’t just a curveball—it was a grenade tossed right at the party’s already-tense equilibrium. She declared late. She skipped the careful dance that candidates usually perform before announcing. Within days, she’d captured front-runner status among the state’s Democrats. But in her wake, party stalwarts weren’t so much celebrating as picking sides and bracing for fallout.Jasmine Crockett draws sharp lines, not just on policy, but in the way she carries herself. Critics inside her own ranks view her as unpredictable—someone who seems to relish confrontation far more than consensus. James Carville, never one for euphemism, tossed aside the usual consultant-speak: “She violates the first rule of politics, which is, you always make it about the voters and never about yourself.” Concerns that used to bubble beneath the surface have spilled over; one pollster in Austin even remarked that voters who otherwise might have left Attorney General Ken Paxton’s box blank might feel compelled to vote for him if it’s Crockett staring at them from the other side of the ballot. The fear? She almost scares some Democrats as much as Republicans do.Still, others insist she’s precisely the shock to the system Democrats have failed to deliver for three decades. Matt Angle, who heads the Lone Star Project, shoved back on the narrative that Crockett is a gift to the GOP: “Jasmine’s challenge is to prove people wrong that she somehow benefits the Republicans by being in the race.” It may be an uphill climb. An unnamed House Democrat cut straight to the point: “She might win a primary, but she ain’t winning a general in Texas.” Another colleague was less oblique: “This is a bad decision.” Beneath the surface, there’s real unease—not just about losing the Senate race, but about the potential ripple effect her candidacy could have up and down the ballot. Control of Congress very well could hinge on how Texans read the top line.Meanwhile, one group that’s not splitting hairs? Texas Republicans. Their delight was barely disguised. Sen. John Cornyn all but grinned on cue, quipping that Crockett’s entry felt like a “gift,” while House Speaker Mike Johnson called her campaign “one of the greatest things to happen to the Republican Party in a long, long time.” If you listen closely, you’ll hear whispers that GOP strategists had a hand in cheering her along, convinced she makes the opposition's road steeper.But Crockett isn’t just facing resistance from old-guard Democrats. She’s up against state Rep. James Talarico in the March primary—a legislator with statewide recognition for bucking Republican redistricting. To his credit, Talarico welcomed her and called for unity, but the competitive edge was unmistakable. Early polling from Texas Southern University gave Crockett an eight-point advantage among Democratic primary voters—a solid, though not insurmountable, lead.For many Democratic strategists, though, the real anxieties don’t spark from primary poll numbers. It’s the general election looming ahead, where the red hue of the state asserts itself most brutally. Donald Trump snagged Texas by double digits in the last cycle. Even the best Democratic turnout machines have sputtered at the finish line time and again. Progressive fire and anti-Trump speeches energize a base—sure—but do they sway voters still sitting on the fence in Houston exurbs or Rio Grande Valley suburbs? Austin pollster Nancy Zdunkewicz distilled it: “The burden is on her to show that she can be persuasive and not produce a backlash.”Thanks to a resurfaced dispute from her early legal career—where Crockett settled a case with Budget Rent A Car over a vehicle rented by a then-convicted robber—doubts about her judgment periodically ignite. Yet, in Washington, she’s made a name for herself challenging the justice system and speaking loudly for criminal justice reform.Crockett, far from retreating, has fired back: “Democrats need to be laser-focused on Republicans doing real damage in Texas—not members of Congress with the courage to go toe-to-toe when Texans are under attack.” For her, the party’s fixation with internal division is not just misguided; it’s wasting a critical window of opportunity.There’s a persistent question hanging over all this: Have Democrats lost statewide in Texas for so long because they’re too radical, or not nearly bold enough? Katherine Fischer from Texas Majority PAC captured a sentiment that’s quietly gaining ground: “If anyone really knew how to win in Texas, we’d have done it already.”So, as Democrats weigh rallying behind a candidate like Crockett—combustible, unapologetic, and undeniably bold—they’re contending with more than a referendum on her politics. They’re voting, in a sense, on the party’s very blueprint for surviving in a state Republicans have locked down for generations. And this time, nobody is pretending to know which gamble—bold or cautious—will finally break a three-decade Texas drought.