Early election results showed that state Representative and rising star James Talarico leads in the Democratic primary for Senate on Tuesday evening as Democrats hope to pull off an upset in a state where they have not won a statewide race since 1998.
The race remains too close to call. But Talarico’s opponent for the nomination, Rep. Jasmine Crockett from Dallas, said that Democrats would likely not know the results of the race because of chaos at polling places in her home county.
Crockett, who is Black, accused Republicans of trying to disenfranchise African American voters.
The race comes as Republican incumbent Sen. John Cornyn will head into a bruising twelve-week primary against ultra-MAGA Attorney General Ken Paxton after neither won a majority of the GOP vote on Tuesday.
Talarico, a Presbyterian seminarian and former teacher teacher, became something of an overnight sensation thanks to an appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience where the titular Austin-based host said he needed to run for president.
Talarico caught another lucky break whenThe Late Show with Stephen Colbert caused his stock to rise after Colbert said that CBS’s attorneys prohibited from having Talarico on the show lest the network violate the Federal Communications Commission’s Equal Time rule, though the network denied saying that.
When Colbert’s team put the interview on YouTube, the video racked up millions of views and the candidate raised $2.5 million in 24 hours.
Texas’ Senate race has already emerged as one of the most expensive in the country, topping out at $128 million.
Talarico’s lead comes despite the fact that Republicans had boosted Crockett’s campaign. The National Republican Senatorial Committee, the GOP’s official Senate campaign arm, had commissioned a poll showing her leading a prospective primary. Cornyn put it plainly last year when he tweeted “Run Jasmine, run!”
On the last day of filing, Crockett jumped into the race, forcing out former congressman Colin Allred, who had run against Sen. Ted Cruz in 2024 and lost.
Crockett had been seen as something of a firebrand who earned plaudits in liberal circles for her aggressive attacks against Republicans. She famously referred to former congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene as a “bleach blonde bad-built butch body” after Greene referred to Crockett’s “fake eyelashes.” But she also received criticism for calling Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who uses a wheelchair, “Governor Hot Wheels.”
Crockett also received the backing of former Vice President Kamala Harris, who produced a robocall message for Crockett.
By contrast, Talarico’s supporters argued that he could win over Christian conservatives because of his openness about his faith. He also aggressively reached out to Hispanic voters and independent voters.
On Tuesday evening, the chairman of the Dallas County Democratic Party filed a lawsuit after many Democrats did not know where to go to cast their ballot. Initially, it looked like Dallas County’s polls would be open until 9:00 PM local time until the Texas Supreme Court blocked the decision.
Crockett told supporters on Tuesday evening that voters would not know the results that night.
“So that’s my news is that we’re not going to have election results tonight, in my opinion, based upon what specifically is taking place in Dallas County,” she told supporters at an election night party. “Unfortunately, this is what Republicans like to do. And so they specifically targeted Dallas County, and I think we all know why.”
Cornyn and Paxton will go into a runoff thanks to a spoiler candidacy of two-term Rep. Wesley Hunt. Since no candidate won a majority, a runoff will be held on May 26.
Republicans fear that Paxton’s numerous scandals–from the fact he spent most of his tenure under federal indictment before the Department of Justice decided not to convict him to Republicans in the state House of Representatives impeaching him and his alleged divorce–could repel voters.
Texas is a crucial seat for both Democrats and Republicans, with the GOP holding 53 seats in the 100 seat Senate.
Democrats need to flip four Senate seats to flip the Senate. On Tuesday evening, former Democratic Governor Roy Cooper officially won his nomination to be the nominee for Senate for North Carolina’s open seat.
In Maine, Graham Platner and Gov. Janet Mills are running against each other to challenge five-term incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins. Democrats also hope to flip at least one seat in either Ohio, Iowa or Alaska.
But Democrats face an uphill battle in Texas given that Trump won Texas by double digits in 2024.