After losing the Texas Senate primary race this past Tuesday, March 3, 2026, Texas congresswoman Jasmine Crockett is now facing some pretty blunt criticism from Black Democrats who aren’t holding back about what they see as the real reason for her spectacular downfall.
Crockett, a Democrat from Texas, fell to state Rep. James Talarico in the primary. Talarico’s campaign is already buzzing, with him saying, “our campaign is shocking the nation” as the results came in. According to Fox News, this particular race was a big deal for Democrats, as they’re really pushing to elect a Democratic senator in the historically red state for the first time since way back in 1988.
The criticism hitting Crockett is pretty direct, with some members of her own party pulling no punches. Texas state Rep. Jolanda Jones didn’t mince words, calling Crockett’s campaign “f—ing terrible.” Jones added that while some of Crockett’s supporters might be upset because they saw her as a hero, “for people who understand politics, [Crockett] literally had no ground game.” Jones put the blame squarely on Crockett, stating, “This L is on her.”
The criticism is a telling insight into the internal dynamics of the party
Another Black national Democratic operative, who preferred to remain anonymous, echoed this sentiment, telling a national outlet that Crockett “ran a f—ing terrible campaign that many will question if she’s running a campaign at all.” It seems the feeling among some party insiders is that the campaign execution simply wasn’t there.
Adding another layer to the critique, Stefanie Brown James, co-founder, Collective PAC, pointed to Crockett’s overall style. She noted that Crockett “has been and has felt like a woman on an island.” James explained that while Crockett “has substance, not everybody likes her style,” suggesting that her approach might not appeal to “old-guard Democrats” who, in James’s view, have an “antiquated and outdated” fighting style.
These concerns weren’t new, either. Even before Crockett officially announced her bid, some House Democrats voiced doubts in December remarks, questioning her ability to win a statewide race in Texas. The worry was always there about her viability in a general election in such a conservative state.
However, Crockett’s former deputy campaign manager, Karrol Rimal, quickly pushed back against the criticism, dismissing it as coming from “Monday morning quarterbacks.” Rimal presented a different picture, claiming that the primary was “the most expensive Democratic primary ever in Texas,” with the “overwhelming majority of those dollars being spent on attacks against the congresswoman.”
Rimal asserted that despite being outspent, Crockett “held our own and excited an untapped base of support for Democrats with record numbers of first-time primary voters.” Rimal also cited “intentional voter suppression of voters in Dallas and Williamson counties” as a factor that “can not be ignored.” Crockett herself even suggested the GOP “rigged” the election results on Tuesday night.
Published: Mar 5, 2026 03:15 pm