Editors note: KERA has reached out to other U.S. Senate candidates from Texas, each of whom has an open invitation to join us on air.
Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett made a name for herself as a prominent critic of President Donald Trump and other Republicans. Now she joins the race to unseat Republican U.S. Sen. John Cornyn — in Texas, where no Democrat has been elected to statewide office in three decades.
Crockett sat down with KERA's Bekah Morr for a wide-ranging interview, starting with why she thought now was the right time to jump into this race. The congresswoman said she was swayed by polling numbers and recent political trends, including recent wins for Democrats across the country. She also brought up the Supreme Court's decision to allow Texas to use its new congressional map in next year's midterms.
"It's the Supreme Court that got us into this mess," she said. "So you know what? It's the Senate that has oversight over the Supreme Court. It's the Senate that actually confirms justices. It is the Senate that historically has put us into the biggest pickles. And that is the part of the map that we need to change."
(The below interview has been edited for length and clarity.)
Texas is a reliably red state — and Cornyn has already tried to tie Crockett to the progressive wing of her party. Specifically, he compared Crockett to U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on a recent press call.
"I just don't think she's going to play very well in Texas," he said. "I don't think an AOC-like candidate will play well statewide."
Crockett disputes that comparison, but she does face an uphill battle. So after 30 years of Republican victories, why does she think this election could be different?
"I honestly don't think that this election is about partisan politics," she said. "I think this comes down to whether or not you want somebody that is going to fight for that tax subsidy so that you can still have your health care be affordable, if you have it. I think this comes down to whether or not somebody is going to fight for you to have access to the health care that you don't have."
For Crockett's supporters, one of her strengths has been taking on her Republican colleagues in House committee hearings. Many of those moments have gone viral, like her exchanges with Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene.
But she says she's also no stranger to reaching across the aisle. Crockett talked about working with Cornyn on legislation addressing the fentanyl crisis and food insecurity, and her cooperation with former Congresswoman Kay Granger, a Fort Worth Republican — things she said don't create viral moments.
"That stuff is boring. That stuff doesn't go viral," she said. "But those are the receipts. And so I have relationships and I frankly only clash when there is a necessity to stand up for people and fight."
She also said the relationships she's built at the federal level have set her up better than her Democratic primary opponent, state Rep. James Talarico of Austin.
Crockett's time in Congress also gives her more name recognition: Polls show Crockett's name ID is higher than Talarico's. But she thinks it'll take more than that to pull off a win. Crockett says her best chance of running a successful campaign is to leverage that name recognition to get new voters to the polls.
Whether or not she can do that is yet to be seen, but we'll find out how she stacks up as the Democratic primary gets underway next year.
Bekah Morr is KERA's afternoon newscaster and editor. Got a tip? Email Bekah at rmorr@kera.org.
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