Jasmine Crockett’s most viral TikTok moment features a brief, five-second exchange outside the U.S. Capitol. In this clip, a question is posed to the Democratic congresswoman about what message she would send to billionaire Elon Musk. Her response, a colorful two-word phrase, has captivated 20.7 million viewers.

On the other hand, James Talarico’s most popular TikTok offering is an 88-second excerpt from a speech where the state representative argues that billionaires, rather than minorities, are the real threat to America. He emphasizes that the primary political divide is between the wealthy elite and the rest, not between left and right. This video has been viewed 15.5 million times.

Both Crockett and Talarico are contenders in the March 3 Democratic Senate primary in Texas, each employing different tactics in the pursuit of the most valuable commodity in today’s political landscape: attention.

Crockett is known for her confrontations with former President Donald Trump and other Republican figures, while Talarico brands himself as a policy expert, often incorporating biblical references into his rhetoric.

The choice of the Democratic nominee will be telling, as it reflects the party’s strategy in challenging the Republican stronghold in Texas and their broader ambitions to regain control of the Senate.

“Their voting records would likely mirror each other, but their political styles are starkly different, making it a compelling race to follow,” observed Allison Campolo, the Democratic Party chair for the county that includes Fort Worth.

Social media has pitfalls, though. A TikTok influencer posted this week that Talarico referred to former U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, the Democrats’ unsuccessful 2024 Senate nominee, as “mediocre,” creating a tempest. Talarico is white; the influencer, Allred and Crockett are Black.

Talarico put out a statement calling it a “mischaracterization” of a private conversation.

Democrats are bullish again about their chances

Democrats haven’t won a Senate race in Texas since 1988, but they see an opening this year. Republicans might not renominate four-term incumbent Sen. John Cornyn and might opt for state Attorney General Ken Paxton, who’s popular with Trump’s base but has also spent most of his career under legal troubles. Rep. Wesley Hunt also is seeking the GOP nomination.

Democrats’ success in elections since Trump began his second term — including a special election for the Texas state Senate last month — has buoyed the party’s hopes that, after decades of losses in statewide races, this may be their year.

Crockett, 44, a former public defender and civil-rights attorney, served two years in the Texas House before winning her congressional seat in the Dallas area in 2022. Her supporters see her as the candidate better able to excite voters of color, who’ve been a key part of the Democratic base.

Talarico, 36, is training to be a Presbyterian minister. A former middle school teacher, he first won his Austin-area legislative seat in 2018. His backers believe the discussion of his Christian faith could win over a wider swath of voters this fall.

Both are adept at creating digital moments — and followings.

Viral moments

Crockett has 2.2 million TikTok followers, giving her one of the largest reaches on the platform among members of Congress. By comparison, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York has 4.1 million followers.

Crockett’s most popular posts include audio of Trump insulting her as she remains expressionless until flashing a smile at the end, in a video her campaign posted with the hashtag #TexasTough. Another clip, viewed 2 million times, is her simply lip-syncing to the 1990s rock hit “What’s Up?” by 4 Non Blondes along with a Democratic candidate in Michigan.

But clips from combative exchanges in Congress are what accelerated Crockett’s ascent into one of the party’s rising young stars. In one May 2024 clash with then-Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, the Georgia Republican suggested during a hearing that Crockett’s “fake eyelashes” got in the way of reading legislation. Crockett snaps back with her own put-down, suggesting that Greene had a “bleach-blonde, bad-built butch body.”

Crockett has said her training as a trial lawyer allows her to answer Republicans in the moment, but her remarks that take off on social media have also brought blowback. After a video of her calling Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who uses a wheelchair, “Governor Hot Wheels” went viral, Crockett responded by saying she was referring to Abbott using transportation to send migrants from Texas to U.S. cities.

Crockett acknowledged during her only debate so far with Talarico that she is “not about politics as usual.”

“I think that I will do the edgy things, the things that the political consultants will never tell you to do,” Crockett said.

Sit-down with Joe Rogan

Talarico, who has 1.5 million TikTok followers, said Democrats cannot win the Texas seat “with the same old politics of division.”

On social media, Talarico leans into his background as a seminarian. Clips show him asking pointed questions in legislative debates, opposing school vouchers or a requirement that teachers post the Ten Commandments in their classrooms. In one video, Talarico notes lawmakers are working on the Sabbath to pass the Ten Commandments bill, a violation of one of those commandments.

“Maybe they should try following the Ten Commandments before mandating them,” he says in the video.

Talarico regularly talks about Jesus’ command for people to love others as they love themselves. He’s done long podcast interviews, including with Joe Rogan, the popular podcaster who endorsed Trump in 2024 after the Republican sat down for an interview. Rogan told Talarico near the end of their 2 1/2-hour podcast last summer that he should run for president.

Digital strategies get attention — and help fundraise

Platforms like X, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok also help candidates raise money and test messaging.

“You can communicate as often as you want at the times that you prefer and you can vary the format,” said Pinar Yildirim, an associate professor of marketing and economics at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business.

Candidates tie social media content to online ads to test which messages most effectively bring potential supporters to their websites, said Jennifer Stromer-Galley, a professor of information studies at Syracuse University.

“Now they can do it in much more fine-grained, real-time ways,” said Stromer-Galley, who wrote a book on the history of presidential candidates’ online campaign efforts.

Social media also bridges the distance between Senate candidates and the national donor base they need to tap, said Mike Doyle, the Democratic chair for Austin’s home county.

Crockett raised about $642,000 during the first week of her campaign and has collected $6.5 million so far, most of it carried over from her House account. Talarico raised more than $1.2 million in his campaign’s first week, on his way to more than $13 million in contributions so far.

“You don’t have to be on the ground to see Jasmine or James on social media,” Doyle said.