Rep.Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, said her Democratic Senate primary race was "a racist race" in an interview published Wednesday and argued she didn't need to campaign with her former opponent and the party's nominee, James Talarico. Crockett said at the Essence Festival alongside the hosts of the "Native Land" podcast that the best thing she could do for former primary foe Talarico was to endorse Black candidates down ballot so more Black voters turn out in November."The best thing that I can do is take down-ballot candidates who no one's ever heard of and do my best to uplift them and increase the voter participation in a way that we did in Texas," she said. "You see, a lot of haters got a lot of things to say about me and my race and how I ran it," Crockett continued.
"But the reality is that there was a lot of racist, not a lot, it was racist.It was a racist race.
It is what it is, right? But we live in America as y'all are celebrating 250.OK? We know what this country is.
But let me tell you the facts.There is no race that turned out more people to vote ever in the state of Texas except for Barack [Obama] and Hillary [Clinton]."WATCH: OBAMA, HARRIS ADVISOR WARNS ‘BETRAYED’ BLACK VOTERS COULD BE TEXAS SENATE CANDIDATE'S KRYPTONITERep.
Jasmine Crockett speaks on the Global Black Economic Forum Stage during the 2026 ESSENCE Festival on July 4, 2026, in New Orleans, Louisiana.(Arturo Holmes/Getty Images for ESSENCE)Crockett launched her bid for Senate in 2025 and ultimately lost the Democratic nomination to Talarico, a state legislator.
Talarico is now facing Republican Ken Paxton in the general election."Did you hear me?" she said during the podcast interview."Literally, our Democratic nominee during a presidential year last term got 500,000 votes.
I got over double that, and I still lost.So, so listen, I say this with all sincerity.
I am doing my part."Crockett said she was treated unfairly in the race. CRITICS ROAST JASMINE CROCKETT AFTER SHE CALLS H...