State Rep. James Talarico said his leading opponent in the upcoming Democratic Senate primary, Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, had previously told him she was "looking at running in 2030" when asked about her plans for this year's race.
In an interview on Hello Houston, Talarico said he called Crockett in the summer of 2025 when he was considering a potential Senate run.
"Congresswoman Crockett was actually one of the first people I called because I have such respect for her, and she and I are friends," Talarico said. "I wanted to make sure that she wasn't looking at running in the Senate race in 2026. And she told me she was, you know, focused on her work in the Congress and was looking at running in 2030."
Talarico added that "the congresswoman has the right to change her mind, and she changed her mind on the last day of the filing period."
In a lengthy statement, Congresswoman Crockett confirmed that Talarico had called her at the time.
“I was focused on the task at hand, which was serving my constituents in Texas’ 30th Congressional District,” she said. “I honestly was not looking for a new job. But as the days passed, it became clear that a single member of the House wasn’t going to be able to thwart the threats on our democracy and the retrogression of our freedoms in the ways that a single member of the Senate could.”
She said that she had later offered to share polling with Talarico that showed her leading the field of potential candidates for the Democratic nomination. She said she had suspected Talarico would run for Governor of Texas. She added that she and Talarico “could have been a dynamic duo.”
RELATED: Crockett, Talarico take on affordability, ICE and Trump during Texas primary debate.
Talarico and Crockett are in a dead heat for the Democratic nomination in the 2026 Senate race, challenging incumbent Republican John Cornyn. Cornyn faces his own challenge from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
New polling from Texas Public Opinion Research, a nonpartisan pollster whose leader has ties to the Democratic Party, found Talarico and Crockett are essentially tied among Democratic primary voters, with 21% undecided. Crockett had a higher favorability rating than Talarico, which pollsters attributed to her name recognition.
Though Talarico and Crockett largely refrained from attacking one another during a primary debate on Saturday, political blog Punchbowl News reported Crockett's campaign could be working on potential attack advertisements against Talarico.
When asked about that possibility on Hello Houston, Talarico said the two Democratic candidates should not be "spending precious time and resources attacking and tearing down each other, especially when we have such a big task ahead of us in November."
In her statement, Crockett said she and Talarico are friends, and “We can win with unity and experience that instills confidence along with having a warrior who has taken a few hits and yet still stands tall.”
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