Jasmine Crockett’s Senate Campaign in Shambles After Devastating New Poll-l
Democratic firebrand Jasmine Crockett received more bad news following the bombshell Supreme Court ruling that upheld Texas’ new congressional map ahead of the 2026 midterms.
Crockett pivoted from seeking a new House seat in a nearby Texas district to a fledgling run for the U.S. Senate. However, a damaging new poll appears to have thrown cold water on her Senate bid.
State Rep. James Talarico has emerged as the frontrunner in Texas’s Democratic Senate primary, holding a nine-point lead over U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, according to a new Emerson College Polling/Nexstar Media survey released Thursday.
Among likely Democratic primary voters, 47 percent said they plan to back Talarico, compared with 38 percent for Crockett. Another 15 percent remain undecided with less than two months before the March primary.
The two Democrats are battling for the nomination to challenge Sen. John Cornyn, who faces his own tight contest on the Republican side.
Talarico, who has raised more than $13 million since launching his campaign in September, showed strong cross-demographic appeal — winning support from nearly six in ten white and Hispanic Democrats. Crockett, meanwhile, dominated among Black Democratic voters, capturing 80 percent in that demographic.
Men favored Talarico by 22 points, while women were evenly divided between the two candidates, according to Emerson Polling Executive Director Spencer Kimball.
A former middle school teacher and radical lawmaker, Talarico rose to national prominence in 2024 after joining other Texas Democrats in fleeing the state to block a Republican-backed redistricting bill. His campaign has emphasized education reform, housing affordability, and restoring local control to school districts.
Crockett, a first-term congresswoman known for her combative style on Capitol Hill, shook up the race with a late December entry that forced former Rep. Colin Allred, the Democratic Party’s 2024 Senate nominee, to drop his 2026 campaign and instead run again for the House.
Analysts say the race has become a referendum on tone and temperament within Texas’s Democratic Party — with Talarico pitching himself as a bridge-builder and Crockett appealing to the party’s progressive base.
On the Republican side, Attorney General Ken Paxton continues to pose a serious threat to Sen. Cornyn, leading him 27 percent to 26 percent among likely GOP primary voters. Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-Texas) trails at 16 percent, while 29 percent remain undecided, the poll found.
“Neither Ken Paxton nor John Cornyn appears positioned to reach 50% on the primary ballot, as the Republican electorate remains sharply divided,” Kimball said. “With Wesley Hunt gaining traction at 16%, a runoff between Cornyn and Paxton now appears likely in May.”
In general election matchups, both Democrats remain competitive. Paxton tied with both Talarico and Crockett at 46 percent each, while Cornyn edged Talarico 47 to 44 percent and led Crockett 48 to 43 percent.
Despite the close numbers, national forecasters remain skeptical that Democrats can overcome Texas’s deep-red fundamentals. The Cook Political Report continues to rate the race as “Likely Republican,” just short of a solid GOP hold.
Still, Democrats see opportunity in the state’s shifting demographics and continued urban growth. Talarico’s campaign released a statement calling the results “proof that Texans are ready for a new generation of leadership focused on working families instead of Washington insiders.”
Nonetheless, Crockett insists that she has been wronged by the Supreme Court decision that may have ended her time in Congress.
“While today’s decision from the Supreme Court is disappointing, it’s not shocking coming from a MAGA-influenced court. Here’s the bottom line: Texans are now being told to vote under maps that a panel of three federal judges—right here in Texas—said were drawn to weaken the voices of Black, Latino, and minority communities,” she said. “Those findings still stand. The Supreme Court simply pressed pause, allowing these maps to be used for the 2026 election cycle while the case continues.”
“Let’s be clear: the Supreme Court did not say these maps are fair. They did not say these maps are constitutional. They did not undo what the lower court found,” she continued. “All they did was allow maps that the lower court flagged as discriminatory to stay in place for now. To every politician celebrating this decision, let me offer a word of caution: Don’t get too comfortable.”
However, it looks like James Talarico is all too comfortable in his senate bid against Crockett so far.
Rep. Ilhan Omar Intensifies Criticism of Federal Immigration Enforcement
Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota sharply escalated her criticism of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement operations on Monday, accusing federal agents of treating Minneapolis as an occupying force and again calling for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s resignation or impeachment.
In remarks to constituents in Minneapolis, Omar repeatedly described the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other federal officers in the city as an inappropriate use of government authority, saying the situation has created fear among local residents. Omar said Minneapolis is “currently under occupation” and cited concerns about schools, hospitals and daily life as evidence of what she called harmful federal intervention.
“We do not exaggerate when we say we have schools where two-thirds of the students are afraid to go to school,” Omar said. “We do not exaggerate when we say we have people who are afraid to go to the hospital because our hospitals have occupying paramilitary forces.”
Omar referenced two recent fatalities during federal immigration operations in Minneapolis — the deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good — and argued those incidents underscored the need for new leadership at DHS. In her remarks, she blamed senior White House advisers for shaping the administration’s immigration policies.
“When we say it is time for Kristi Noem to go, we mean it now,” Omar added. “And there needs to be accountability for the architect of the terror we are facing in Minneapolis and so many other cities, which is Stephen Miller.”
Omar’s comments follow an appearance on MSNBC’s All In with Chris Hayes, where she reiterated those positions and broadened her critique to include senior administration officials. In that interview, she said Noem should resign or face impeachment, echoing earlier statements from House Democratic leadership. Omar also repeated criticism of Miller, a senior White House adviser on immigration policy, calling him a “copycat of the Nazis” and suggesting he should be prosecuted.
Her remarks also tied national Republican rhetoric on immigration to broader social tensions, asserting that aggressive enforcement language has “created anger” that can lead to confrontations with Somali immigrants and other community members in Minnesota.
Omar’s public criticism comes amid the ongoing federal immigration operation known as Operation Metro Surge. Federal agents have been deployed to Minneapolis to apprehend illegal immigrants with criminal convictions, drawing protests and heightened scrutiny from local officials and advocacy groups.
Democratic lawmakers, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), have called for increased oversight of DHS and ICE policies as part of broader negotiations over long-term funding for the Department of Homeland Security. Jeffries has publicly stated that Noem should be impeached if she does not resign, and Schumer has called for additional conditions on immigration enforcement in appropriations legislation.
In response to increased political pressure, DHS has taken steps to increase transparency in its operations. Earlier this week, Secretary Kristi Noem announced that body-worn cameras will be issued to all federal immigration enforcement officers deployed in Minneapolis as an immediate measure, with plans to expand the program nationwide as funding becomes available. “Effective immediately we are deploying body cameras to every officer in the field in Minneapolis,” Noem wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
Federal officials have said that some Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers present during the Jan. 24 shooting of Pretti were already equipped with body cameras, though full footage has not been released. Officials have not yet clarified whether ICE officers were wearing cameras during the earlier fatal encounter involving Good.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz responded to Noem’s announcement by saying body cameras should have been in place prior to the deaths of Pretti and Good, who were tragically killed while interfering with ICE law enforcement operations.
