Rep. Jasmine Crockett
U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas, said she’s soon planning to endorse several Democratic candidates running for county judge and the Texas House, marking the first glimpse of her avowed plans to campaign for down-ballot nominees rather than her former U.S. Senate rival, James Talarico.
Crockett, a second-term congresswoman, lost the Senate Democratic primary to Talarico earlier this year. She quickly announced her support for the Austin lawmaker, but has not campaigned with him and has reiterated in interviews that she intends to focus on other races. Until now, she had not revealed which down-ballot contests she would target, beyond the handful of local candidates she endorsed just before the May runoffs.
In a brief interview with The Texas Tribune, Crockett said she’ll announce her general election slate “shortly” and estimated that it includes four state House candidates and three nominees for county judge, the office that functions as county executive in Texas.
The county judge candidates, Crockett said, come from areas where Democrats will need strong turnout.
“They are from some of our largest counties — counties that we need to make sure that they maintain their edge, as they did in the primary,” Crockett said.
The Dallas congresswoman started the Fueling Individual Rights Everywhere (FIRE) PAC after her March primary loss, and she has traveled around the country in support of candidates she’s endorsed through the PAC.
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Crockett has teased her coming endorsements on her Threads page. The congresswoman said Alisa Simmons, a Democratic Tarrant County commissioner running for county judge in Texas’ third-largest county, will be among her endorsees. Simmons is challenging GOP incumbent Tim O’Hare, who spearheaded a push to turn Simmons’ precinct into a solidly Republican seat through mid-decade redistricting.
As for the state House candidates she’s backing, Crockett said she plans to be involved in a race in Harris County on behalf of a Democratic candidate who she’s known for “a very long time.”
“He’s very qualified,” Crockett said. “He’s running against one of my classmates from the state House who’s problematic.”
Her description appears to fit Tyler Smith, who is challenging GOP state Rep. Lacey Hull in a northwest Houston district, one of only a few options in the county that are both under Republican control and seen as competitive. Crockett has praised Smith on her Threads page as well.
During the primaries, she appeared on the ground to campaign with her endorsed candidates in Texas and around the country. Her PAC also made contributions to the candidates she backed and to a number of congressional colleagues.
Through the end of June, FIRE PAC had raised over $121,000 and had about $45,000 in cash on hand.
I have not said anything about the Crockett-Talarico discourse, and I intend to continue with that. Alisa Simmons and Tyler Smith are both excellent candidates to support. I will be publishing an interview with Tyler Smith in the near future, so look for that. I hope she raises a bunch of money for her slate and helps them on a path to victory. And that’s all I have to say.