Crockett Dumps Cold Water on Talarico Right After Losing to Him in the Primary

Jasmine Crockett spent the spring promising crowds that Texas was ready to turn blue.

Now the same congresswoman who lost the Senate primary to James Talarico was asked point blank if he can finish what she started.

Her answer says more about the state of the Texas Democratic Party than any poll ever could.

Crockett Says She Doesn't Even Trust the Polls Showing Talarico Ahead

James Talarico beat Jasmine Crockett in March's Democratic Senate primary, and Democrats have been buzzing over new polling showing him running close with Ken Paxton in the general election.

Crockett was not in a celebrating mood.

Asked directly whether Talarico can turn Texas blue, Crockett told reporters she doesn't buy the numbers.

"When I look at the money, if Republicans start spending money in Texas, then I'll be convinced," Crockett said.

Translation: until the national GOP treats Talarico like a real threat, Crockett isn't calling him one.

She went further, telling reporters she won't "get on the ground to really start to feel it until maybe end of September, October."

Five months after losing the primary to him, Crockett still can't bring herself to say her own party's nominee is winning.

Talarico Is Running as a Youth Pastor While Hiding a Far Left Record

James Talarico wants Texas voters to see a soft-spoken former middle school teacher who talks about his Christian faith on podcasts like Call Her Daddy and with Joe Rogan.

The record behind that persona is considerably less moderate.

Talarico has said God is nonbinary, labeled restrictions on abortion and gender procedures "Christofascism," and argued the Bible itself demands government-run health insurance.

That's not a Bible study.

That's the same far left platform Crockett ran on, delivered with a hymn instead of a hashtag.

Texas voters have seen this movie before.

Beto O'Rourke ran as the reasonable, relatable Democrat too, and Texas said no to him three separate times in four years – Senate in 2018, president in 2020, governor in 2022.

Wendy Davis tried it.

Bill White tried it.

Every cycle, a new Democrat gets crowned the one who finally cracks Texas, and every cycle Texas Republicans win statewide anyway – a streak that now stretches back to 1994, longer than most of Talarico's staff have been alive.

The Numbers Crockett Won't Say Out Loud

Texas has not elected a Democrat to a single statewide office in over three decades.

Greg Abbott crushed Beto O'Rourke by eleven points in 2022 even as national media insisted the race was tightening.

John Cornyn and Ken Paxton are still fighting each other in a runoff, and the same polls Democrats are celebrating show Talarico's lead over Paxton sitting at just two to five points – well inside the range a real general election campaign closes.

Crockett knows what happens once Texas Republicans stop fighting each other and start fighting Talarico.

She lost to him in March, and she still won't say his chances are real.

What Crockett's Doubt Means for Talarico in November

Texas Democrats have been promising a blue wave since Obama's second term, and Jasmine Crockett just admitted out loud that this year's version doesn't feel any different.

Crockett has her own explanation for March, too.

She told reporters her primary loss came down to a "racist race," not a losing message.

She also said the best thing she can do for Talarico now "isn't me standing on a stage with him."

A Democrat who blames her own defeat on racism and won't be seen campaigning with the nominee is not a Democrat who believes November is in the bag.

Talarico can pose with a guitar and quote scripture on every podcast in America, but a record built on "Christofascism" rhetoric and government-run health care doesn't disappear because the delivery got softer.

The bigger story here is a Democratic Party that keeps mistaking a two-point poll for a coalition.

Beto had the money, the media, and the momentum, and Texas still sent him home three times.

Talarico has a primary win over Crockett and a slim lead in a runoff nobody's finished voting in yet – and he doesn't even have Crockett's full confidence heading into November.

Sources:

• Breitbart News, "Jasmine Crockett Unsure if James Talarico Can Turn Texas Blue," Breitbart, August 5, 2026.
• Jeff Charles, "This Is What Jasmine Crockett Had to Say About James Talarico's Chances of Winning," Townhall, August 5, 2026.
• Nick Arama, "Grab the Popcorn: The Left Is Big Mad Over What Jasmine Crockett Just Said About Talarico," RedState, August 5, 2026.
• "Talarico leads Paxton by 5 points in new poll of Texas' U.S. Senate race," The Texas Tribune, July 28, 2026.
• "Talarico leads John Cornyn, Ken Paxton in Texas Senate race, new poll shows," The Hill, April 28, 2026.
• "Gov. Abbott's Drubbing of Beto O'Rourke Dashes Dem Hopes of Flipping Texas Blue," Fox News.