With less than three weeks before early voting begins for the primaries, candidates across the state are looking to earn Texans’ support in the polls. And the Democrats are pulling out all the stops – this upcoming election being the first time in modern history that either party has filed for every U.S. congressional, state House, state Senate, statewide judicial, and State Board of Education race.
Last Saturday, Jan. 24, state Rep. James Talarico and U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett went head-to-head in their first debate ahead of the U.S. Senate election, held by the Texas AFL-CIO in Georgetown. Though intense, given the current state of the country, the conversation between the two was more amiable than acrimonious.
Following each candidate’s opening statements, the moderators’ first question jumped right into what some consider the biggest concern heading into the 2026 general election: electability. Crockett – who has built her personality on being a fierce and retaliative leader for the Democratic party – said that what voters want is “someone who is going to be unafraid in the face of what we are facing right now, which is someone who believes he’s a king,” referencing challenges that the country is facing due to decisions made by the Trump administration.
Responding to Crockett’s statements on electability, Talarico – a devout Christian with a background as a middle school teacher – said that the party has a “moral imperative to win this election,” whether it be him or Crockett.
During the 60-minute conversation, Crockett and Talarico discussed a range of topics, from immigration enforcement to foreign policy, health care to the economy, artificial intelligence to the possibility of impeaching Trump, and more. Both candidates leaned into the narratives that their campaigns have been pushing.
For Crockett, she stood on the reputation she has built over her time in office, insisting that she will be a fighter for the party, also stating that she is more well known than Talarico, due to her track record. “If we’re going to win and keep our country, we’re gonna need somebody who can file bills, but also knows how to be a street fighter,” she said.
As for Talarico, he continued to restate his analysis that “the real fight in this country is not left versus right; it’s top versus bottom.” Touting the fact that he has not accepted any campaign donations from billionaires or corporate PACs, Talarico laid out multiple ways that he hopes to level the playing field for the middle class through anti-corruption, such as banning corporate PACs, banning super PACs, banning Congress members from trading stocks, banning gerrymandering, setting term limits, and more. (Crockett pointed out that Talarico previously accepted a donation from pro-gambling group Texas Sands PAC, which is funded by Miriam Adelson, a Trump megadonor.)
The two also answered questions from state union members – Cheryl Eliano, Calvin Mackie, and Trevor Haas – about protecting union members’ jobs from AI overreach, supporting federal employees, and implementing rest breaks and heat safety protections for workers. The next day, followed by a vote by union delegates, the Texas AFL-CIO announced that it will not make an endorsement for the U.S. Senate race, leaving union affiliates to make their own endorsements in the race.
With the two candidates closely aligned on how they would approach the major issues that Texas and the country face, the 60 minutes of debate was not enough to sway the union one way or the other, and Texans may be thinking the same thing heading into the primaries.
This article appears in January 30 • 2026.