Texas Democrats Have a Choice – And it’s a Big One

Two rising stars. Only one seat. A Senate primary that could be a test of the party's future.

Illustration by Riley Levine

It’s not even 2026 and the midterms are already heating up.

Texas Democrats just got the kind of action they haven’t seen in a long time — not a formality, not a placeholder nominee, but a real choice. With Jasmine Crockett officially announcing her run for U.S. Senate, she and James Talarico are now on a collision course for one of the most consequential primaries in America going into 2026.

Two rising stars with two very different styles — competing for one seat while an entire state (and nation) watches.

The winner won’t just face a Republican. They’ll face the weight of Texas itself — a state Democrats haven’t won statewide in over 30 years, yet one where population growth, demographic shifts, and backlash to extremism and mismanagement have the GOP seriously sweating. Ken Paxton (or whichever MAGA standard-bearer emerges) won’t just be running a campaign — they’ll be guarding a political fortress that Democrats are deciding who they trust to storm it.

This primary isn’t just another money heavy donor class donation cycle. It’s a referendum on the identity of the Democratic Party — what kind of candidate it believes in, what message it wants to send to the country, and whether Texas is a lost cause or the next domino to fall in the pro-democracy movement.

Talarico and Crockett represent two visions for Democratic leadership:

• Crockett — bold, fiery, viral, no-nonsense, a whip-smart fighter who can command a microphone and dominate media cycles.

• Talarico — polished, policy heavy, empathetic, a rising Gen-z adjacent lawmaker who speaks the language of teachers, students, and working families with structure and heart.

Different energies, different coalitions — the same mission. To flip Texas, or at least make Republicans empty their coffers trying.

This is where the story begins, not in November. Because whichever Democratic candidate emerges will define whether this becomes a competitive fight or another year where Texas slips through Democrats’ fingers. This race is a test of message, momentum, the youth, media presence, money, and a movement.

And for the first time in a long time, Democrats finally have a choice worth debating.

Jasmine Crockett: The Firebrand MAGA Loves to Hate

Jasmine Crockett didn’t just enter the race, she arrived. And she did it with the kind of energy Democrats don’t usually see in statewide Texas candidates.

A civil rights attorney turned state representative turned U.S. Congresswoman, Crockett has built her public identity around one clear through line: she fights. She fights on committees. She fights on cable news. She fights on social media. And she fights with tone that isn’t timid, isn’t polished for the donor class, and isn’t afraid of confrontation. It’s raw, grounded, and deeply resonant with voters and constituents who are tired of politely losing.

Her announcement landed like an earthquake. A ground moving event that signaled this primary won’t be quiet or predictable. Crockett is one of the few Democratic lawmakers who can dominate a news cycle without running for president — and she knows it. When she speaks, the clips go viral. When she goes after MAGA, people lose their shit before she even sits down to explain. That kind of media fluency is a power in and of itself in modern politics.

Where she stands:

• Abortion rights: unequivocally pro-choice; a leading voice after the Dobbs decision.

• Voting rights: vocal critic of suppression efforts, especially targeting Black communities.

• Economic justice: pushes for worker protections, housing access, student debt relief.

• Criminal justice reform: shaped by her work as a public defender and civil rights lawyer.

• Immigration & border policy: progressive stance with an emphasis on humane solutions and accountability for abuse of authority.

She’s part of a younger and growing generation of Democrats who are done apologizing for their values — and voters who feel unheard by establishment Dems see themselves in her. Black voters, young voters, progressive voters, and urban bases already know her by name. That matters in a state that is rapidly growing, diversifying, and getting younger by the year.

Crockett’s greatest weapon may be her fearlessness. She speaks with a sharpness that doesn’t have time for the bullshit and that Republicans cannot ignore, nor donors control. She calls out corruption directly — names, receipts, no euphemisms. Against someone like Ken Paxton — indicted, scandal ridden, and brazenly authoritarian — she won’t just critique, she’ll prosecute.

Her challenge?

Texas is still Texas.

Republicans will try to pain her as “loud,” “angry,” “too progressive,” “too aggressive,” because strong Black women make them uncomfortable. Establishment Democrats worry about “electability” — the ghost that haunts any young ambitious candidate. Her fight isn’t just against the GOP — it’s against the quiet preference for “safe” which ends up losing politely instead of running loudly.

Crockett represents the argument that Democrats can’t out-moderate fascism — they have to beat it with clarity, direction, and turnout.

Jasmine Crockett would set the stage on fire. And sometimes fire is what it takes to burn down what isn’t working.

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James Talarico: The Policy Mind and Moral Counterweight

And then there’s the precision of James Talarico.

A former public school teacher turned youngest member of the Texas House, Talarico has emerged as one of the most compelling young Democratic voices in the country by both going viral and changing minds in real time. He went on The Joe Rogan Experience and presented an idea of christianity rooted in loving thy neighbor and caring for each other. He has made the rounds with his message at every turn.

He’s the kind of politician who walks into a committee hearing with data, receipts, and a moral argument prepared to land like a sermon. His speeches don’t just go viral — they get clipped for classrooms, debates, and TikTok creators. He talks like a teacher because he is one — patient when needed, sharp when it’s required, and always grounding policy in people, not abstractions.

Talarico is part of a young group of Democrats who believe good politics is done through teaching. He breaks down issues so clearly that even his opponents find themselves nodding along — right before he hits them with the contradiction of their own logic or prepared talking points. His faith gives him a moral resonance with moderate voters while his policy positions sit firmly alongside progressives.

Where he stands:

• Public education: centerpiece of his identity, an outspoken advocate for teachers, funding, and against voucher privatization.

• Healthcare: supports expanding Medicaid, lowering prescription costs, protecting ACA

• Economy: pro-worker, supports raising the minimum wage, expanding labor protections.

• Civil Rights: pro-LGBTQ+ equality, voting rights, anti-discrimination

• Guns: supports universal background checks and gun safety measures

• Democracy: relentless critic of corruption and extremist overreach.

He’s not afraid of ideological heat, either. When Texas Republicans pushed gerrymandering, book bans, voucher expansions, and attacks on trans kids — Talarico didn’t stay silent. He fought on the floor, in hearings, and in interviews with a calm intensity that signaled seriousness above spectacle.

His strength gives him credibility. His appeal is the substance. His message is that we can govern better and he’ll show us how.

Where Crockett electrifies, Talarico organizes. His natural base stretches from teachers to students, from policy focused liberals to religious progressives, and from young families to older Texans exhausted by the same old politics. In a general election he could court moderates, independents, and the suburbs that Democrats need to win.

His challenge? In the modern corporate media ecosystem, quiet competence doesn’t usually trend and elections aren’t won on policy — they’re won on emotion.

To beat a scandal driven and armored up Republican machine like Ken Paxton has, Democrats need attention, momentum, and turnout.

Talarico has the message — but can he generate the spark?

The Uphill Battle

The road to November 2026 is long. But make no mistake, the battle starts now.

Texas hasn’t sent a Democrat to statewide victory since the ‘90s and Republicans aren’t about to let it happen now. The ground is shifting with big cities, a young electorate, backlash to fascism, and a growing pro-democracy movement that refuses to be silent. For the first time in a long time, Texas Democrats aren’t sleepwalking into a general election. They’re getting a chance to choose who will lead them onto the battlefield.

Mark your calendar:

• Democratic Primary: March 3, 2026

• Runoff (if needed): May 26, 2026

• General Election: November 3, 2026

Between now and then, we’ll see debates, town halls, strategy reveals, viral moments, bad polling, good polling, fundraising results, and plenty of pressure from the party establishment and the grassroots. Pay attention to who shows up in communities, not just on MSNBC. Watch who speaks to working people like they matter. Pay attention to who can survive the Republican media machine — or better yet, crack it wide open.

This isn’t just about Jasmine Crockett and James Talarico. It’s about what kind of party the Democrats want to be in the post-Trump era. A party powered by movement energy and a righteous fire? Or a party led by calm hands, policy depth, and moral persuasion?

Both visions have value, and both will be tested.

🔮 My Prediction

It didn’t even take a day for Democrats to split into their respective camps.

Within hours of Crockett’s announcement, timelines lit up with purity tests and ideological trench lines. Crockett was immediately branded as “AIPAC aligned” and even a “supporter of genocide” after old clips recirculated of her reaffirming the long-standing U.S.-Israel alliance, noting that “it was here long before me and will be here long after,” in a 2024 interview.

Talarico, on the other hand, caught heat from the opposite flank — dismissed by some as a “safe, soft, moderate white guy” who couldn’t bring the firepower needed to take down MAGA in a state as entrenched as Texas.

Two narratives — both exaggerated and incomplete.

The truth is more complicated, and more interesting.

Here’s where I think this goes — and why it matters far beyond Texas.

If Democrats want to win the general election, the candidate who likely gives them the best shot is James Talarico. Not because he’s more moderate, not because he’s “safer,” but because Texas is still a red state — and in reality, flipping it will require more than base turnout. It will take independents. Suburban families. Disaffected conservatives who regret Trump but can’t bring themselves to vote for someone the GOP successfully fear mongers as “radical,” simply for the color of her skin.

Fair or not, identity politics cuts both ways. Republicans know how to exploit racial bias, weaponize Black women’s tone, and run a cultural panic campaign at scale. They want Jasmine Crockett. Not because she’s weak — she isn’t — but because she’s easier to attack in a state where the right still controls media, churches, and suburban narratives through Fox News. The Murdoch’s would make her a character, not a candidate. They’ve already tested the playbook.

But Crockett will likely win the primary.

Why?

Because viral energy beats policy proposals. Because fire rallies donors online faster than nuance and empathy. And because Republican think tanks, super PACs, and dark-money networks will quietly boost her in the primary — just like they didn’t with left-leaning candidates in 2022 and 2024 — believing that she’s the easier opponent to beat in November.

If that happens, we could see a close general. A heartbreak loss. Another “What If?” election.

And then?

Talarico becomes the future. The one who reorganizes, regroups, and potentially eyes the Governor’s mansion — where his profile, faith-driven message, and cross-partisan appeal might land even more powerfully.

Texas isn’t unwinnable. But Democrats have to send the right fighter into the ring.

This primary decides whether they swing for emotion — or strategy.

Evan Fields is a veteran who writes the News from Underground Substack and The Weekly Wrap and Fourth & Democracy newsletters. Read the original article here.

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