Austin state Rep. James Talarico defeated Dallas U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett 53% to 45% in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate on Tuesday night.
Earlier in the evening, results were delayed in places such as Dallas County, where Crockett is based. A judge ordered polling locations to stay open until 9 p.m. — two hours past the usual closing time — after hundreds of voters arrived at polling sites where they believed they could vote, according to KERA. There also were delays at polling locations in Williamson County, north of Austin.
The other candidate in the primary, Ahmad R. Hassan, received about 1.3% of the vote.
On the Republican side, incumbent U.S. Sen. John Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton are headed to a May runoff after neither candidate received more than 50% of the vote in their primary.
Talarico, 36, is an eighth-generation Texan and a former San Antonio middle school teacher who recently earned a Master of Divinity degree from Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary.
He first won election to the Texas House in 2018, flipping a district then-President Donald Trump had won two years earlier. During the first legislative special session in 2025, he emerged as one of the leaders of a Democratic walkout protesting Republican-led congressional redistricting. Talarico announced his Senate candidacy soon after the second special session ended in September.
Crockett led Talarico in much of the early polling, starting months before formally entering the race in December. But Talarico dominated the campaign finance battle, outraising not only Crockett but even incumbent Republican Sen. John Cornyn.
A January debate between Crockett and Talarico in Georgetown showed little daylight between the two candidates on major issues. Both called for sweeping reforms — if not abolition — of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and supported raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans.
That civility did not last throughout the campaign.
In early February, former congressman Colin Allred — who had dropped out of the Democratic Senate primary in December — publicly accused Talarico of referring to him as “a mediocre Black man” and endorsed Crockett. Talarico said the allegation mischaracterized a private conversation, explaining he had described Allred’s 2024 Senate campaign against incumbent Sen. Ted Cruz as “mediocre,” not his life or service.
A pro-Talarico super PAC later aired an attack ad arguing Crockett would struggle to win a general election. Crockett responded by calling Talarico — who has said he would work to ban super PACs — a hypocrite.
Talarico’s fundraising advantage and aggressive advertising campaign helped him overcome Crockett’s early polling lead.
With Cornyn and Paxton headed to a May runoff, Talarico will have several additional weeks to campaign before Republicans settle on their nominee.