Rep. Jasmine Crockett is not ready to say her former Democratic Senate primary opponent, James Talarico, has a realistic path to flipping Texas for the party this fall.
“I don’t know,” Crockett (D-Texas) told NBC News when asked whether Talarico could turn the Lone Star State blue in the midterm elections.
Crockett, a prominent progressive voice who lost to Talarico in the March Democratic primary, expressed skepticism about recent polls showing him holding a narrow edge over Republican nominee Ken Paxton.
“I watch money,” Crockett said.
“When I look at the money, if Republicans start spending money in Texas, then I’ll be convinced. But right now, national Republicans decided they wanted to dump money into North Carolina, as well as Georgia. That’s where they’re fighting,” the congresswoman continued.
Crockett also pointed out that national Democrats have not poured major resources into Texas, a sign she suggested may indicate party strategists do not see the Senate race as a top pickup opportunity.
“I look at: where does the NRSC stand? Where does DSCC stand?” she said, referring to the Republican and Democratic Senate campaign committees. “Right now, neither one are investing, which tells me that their internals are saying the same thing.”
“So it looks like status quo.”
Earlier this summer, Crockett, apparently still sour about her 52.4% to 46.2% primary loss to Talarico, refused the 37-year-old state lawmaker’s invite to speak at the Texas Democratic Party convention.
Crockett told the Dallas Morning News in June that she didn’t even listen to Talarico’s message, ripping it as an “afterthought invite.”
She has also previously expressed doubt that Talarico can win over black voters in the state.
Crockett told NBC News that she’s still undecided on whether she’ll stump for Talarico.
“I won’t get on the ground to really start to feel it until maybe end of September, October, as I start to dig into which races I’m going to help out in, the races that I really feel like we can win,” she said.
The Texas Senate race could prove critical to determining the balance of power in the Senate next year.
Democrats need to flip four seats in midterms to gain control of the upper chamber.
