State lawmaker beats Jasmine Crockett in fiercely contested election marked by record turnout and confusion at polls

James Talarico won the Democratic nomination for a US Senate seat in Texas on Tuesday, capping a remarkable rise from state lawmaker and seminary student to the party’s standard-bearer in one of the key races of the 2026 midterm cycle.

With his blend of faith-based populism, bipartisan appeal and generational energy, Talarico defeated Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, a firebrand beloved by the party’s base but who struggled to dispel concerns that she could defeat a Republican in a state that has not elected a Democrat statewide in more than 30 years.

A jubilant Talarico told supporters in Austin before the race was called: “We are not just trying to win an election. We are trying to fundamentally change our politics. And it’s working.”

  • Fermion@mander.xyz
    325·
    23 hours ago

    This map convinces me of that. Even amongst the people voting in a dem primary, the rural people preferred the white church boy. Crockett is more qualified, but Talarico has a better chance of actually winning.

    Fortunately, they were both good candidates.

    • protist@mander.xyzEnglish
      2·
      11 hours ago

      What you see on this map is the Hispanic population overwhelmingly supporting Talarico over Crockett, and vice versa for the black population. This bodes well for a general election, given Texas is 40% Hispanic.

    • givesomefucks@lemmy.worldEnglish
      382·
      22 hours ago

      Crockett is more qualified,

      Because she has 3 whole years in the House…

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jasmine_Crockett

      And Tarico only has checks notes 8 years of experience in House.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Talarico

      But it’s not just that, he’s religious and the grandson a Christian church leader! Not like Crockett who…

      Is religious and the daughter of a Christian church leader…

      Well, she only takes some money from corporate PACS, and he takes… Well, he takes none, but…

      The only thing Crockett has more experience in, is losing elections.

      The only one she won, was because Sam Altman bought it and the incumbent heavily supported her.

      On November 20, 2021, incumbent representative Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas’s 30th congressional district announced she would not seek reelection in 2022.[24] Four days later, Crockett declared her candidacy for the seat. Johnson simultaneously announced that she was backing Crockett.[25][26]

      Crockett also received extensive financial support from Super PACs aligned with the cryptocurrency industry, with Sam Bankman-Fried’s Protect Our Future PAC giving $1 million in support of her campaign.[27]

      There’s no logical reason for everyone to have such high options of her, except you all fell for billionaire and Republican propaganda

      Can you give me a logical defense of:

      Crockett is more qualified,

      Because I legitimately never understood her “rise”.

      • Fermion@mander.xyz
        54·
        22 hours ago

        Can you give me a logical defense of:

        Crockett is more qualified,

        Crockett has 3 yrs in the Texas House and 3 years in the US House.

        Talarico’s 8 yrs have been solely in the Texas House.

        I think most people weight national legislative experience significantly higher than state legislative experience.

        Plus Crockett has a demonstrated track record of getting national news coverage opposing Trump.

        I’m really not looking to get into a debate though. I’m not a Texan and have only casually followed this race. They seem like remarkably comparable candidates overall. I just wanted to say that from the outsider’s perspective, Talarico seems to have a better chance in the generals.

    • BigFig@lemmy.worldEnglish
      8·
      22 hours ago

      Brother. Do you know how rural all that purple is?? That’s the East Texas Piney woods, just as rural as any prairie farmer