Jasmine Crockett is willing to go everywhere to meet voters—even the club

EXCLUSIVE: “I think it’s time out for buttoned up,” Crockett told theGrio during a wide-ranging interview.

As U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett campaigns for the Democratic nomination in a competitive primary election just weeks away, there is no place Crockett won’t go to reach voters — including the club.

“I think it’s time out for buttoned up,” Crockett told theGrio during a wide-ranging interview. “[Voters] just want to know that you really see them. And I really do see real people.”

Crockett, 44, is seeking the Democratic nomination in a competitive primary race against Texas State Rep. James Talarico. If victorious in the March 3 primary and the subsequent general election in November, Crockett would make history as the first Black woman elected to the U.S. Senate from Texas.

Her statewide strategy to victory includes turning out Black and Hispanic voters who do not traditionally vote in Texas, where Black and Brown residents make up a plurality of the state’s population. According to a poll from HIT Strategies, 700,000 registered Black Texans did not vote in
the 2024 election. There are approximately 4 million Black people living in Texas. In total, 1.7 million Black and Brown voters in the Lone State sat out the election that handed Donald Trump the presidency for a second time.

While Crockett is still turning to traditional places to stump, from local Texas newspapers and TV stations to Black churches, Crockett sees the nightlife scene as an untapped source for voter engagement.

“I think the only person we’ve seen probably hit the clubs was Mamdani,” said Crockett, referring to New York City’s new mayor, Zohran Mamdani, whose progressive campaign, which was focused on affordability and taxing the rich, resulted in record turnout. Mamdani notably went on a Brooklyn bar crawl the night before Election Day last November.

“He actually knows how to rhyme and spit, so he can get on the mic. I can get on the mic, but I definitely don’t rap, because that’s not me,” Crockett told theGrio.

Crockett credits her years as a public defender, visiting incarcerated people in jail, with her unconventional approach to campaigning.

“Online, people perceive me to be real and a fighter. It’s another thing for them to be like, oh, shoot, like, Jas is here [in the club]. Like, she is amongst us,” said Crockett.

She continued, “I think that’s what people are craving for. They are tired of this kind of disconnect, where it’s like, oh, you’re only in D.C., you don’t see me, you don’t feel me, you don’t know me, you don’t live amongst me. And I think for everybody that wonders, oh, is she quote-unquote putting on? I think that real recognizes real. And so when you show up, people appreciate that.”

It goes without saying that Crockett isn’t your typical politician. Since entering Congress in 2023, the U.S. congresswoman has quickly become a household name for her say-it-like-you-mean-it persona and viral clap backs, most notably her “beach blonde, bad built, butch body” insult against former MAGA Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene.

“[My parents] never told me that I had limitations. That’s not how I grew up, with an I-can’t spirit. It was always a yes-you-can spirit,” Crockett told theGrio. “My parents allowed me the great fortune of getting some of the best education that I could, so that I could be confident in who I was and what I was doing, and also doing it while feeling comfortable in my skin.”

Crockett describes her campaign strategy as “old school combined with new school.”

“Historically, we have not been getting to those [voters] that have decided to choose the couch. I know that a lot of people know me from national news, and granted, when you serve in the United States Congress, there’s always national issues, and I’m still doing that, but what people in D.C. and other places don’t see is that I am engaging with our locals,” she said. “It is about the level of comfortability and authenticity, allowing you to maneuver within spaces to where there’s a natural rapport.”

Apparently, Crockett meeting Texans on the dance floor is working.

“There’s so many people that have said to us, I’ve never cared about politics or paid attention to politics until you,” she told theGrio. “That’s what it’s gonna take; a little bit of enthusiasm and believing that you have somebody that doesn’t just do things because some politico told them to do it, but does it because she actually believes that it’s the right thing to do.”