Hold onto your hats, folks—Texas politics just got a whole lot spicier with Democratic Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett throwing her name into the ring for the 2026 U.S. Senate race.
According to the Daily Mail, with paperwork filed on Monday, Crockett is gearing up to battle it out in the Democratic primary against state Rep. James Talarico, with the winner set to potentially face Republican heavyweight Sen. John Cornyn or a challenger like Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Her announcement comes on the heels of ex-Congressman Collin Allred stepping back from the Senate race to pursue a House seat instead.
Allred’s decision to bow out was framed as a strategic retreat, with him stating he wanted to "avoid an ugly primary" that could drag into a runoff if no candidate secures a majority on March 3.
That’s a fair point, but it leaves the door wide open for Crockett, a two-term representative known for her sharp tongue, to seize the spotlight.
She’s expected to address the media later today in Dallas, likely to lay out her vision—or perhaps deflect from the mounting scrutiny surrounding her campaign.
Speaking of scrutiny, Crockett’s campaign finances have come under fire after Federal Election Commission filings revealed at least $75,000 spent on high-end hotels, transportation, and security this year.
Last month, critics pounced on these expenditures, questioning whether such lavish spending aligns with the values of everyday Texans she claims to represent.
It’s hard not to wonder if those funds could have been better directed toward grassroots efforts in a state as vast and diverse as Texas.
Adding fuel to the fire, Crockett has faced questions over her failure to disclose ownership of 25 stocks during her 2022 congressional campaign and even after taking office in 2023.
While she previously shared this information as a state legislator, the omission during her federal run raises serious concerns about transparency—an issue that could haunt her in a Senate race.
Voters deserve to know where their representatives’ interests lie, especially when financial dealings are kept under wraps until the spotlight forces them out.
Then there’s the matter of Crockett’s public behavior, like her Instagram post during the tragic Texas floods in July that claimed over 100 lives, where she mused about personal struggles under a past administration and casually highlighted her new haircut.
She wrote, "Edit: My staff said y'all are commenting about my BOB!"—a tone-deaf pivot that left many shaking their heads while communities mourned.