Jasmine Crockett reinforces move to support down-ballot candidates amid heated Senate race in Texas

Crockett says her focus is on building name recognition for other Democrats running for election in hopes of flipping a noted Republican stronghold.

Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) is putting her focus in November not on the high-profile Senate race between Ken Paxton and her one-time primary opponent James Talarico, but rather on other candidates on the ballot in her home state.

Speaking with CNN’s Laura Coates on “Laura Coates Live” on Thursday, Crockett did not mention Talarico by name when asked how she would lend her celebrity and political gravitas in November, instead telling the reporter that she would be “campaigning down-ballot.”

“When we’re looking at a state like Texas, we’ve tried this. We’ve had one amazing candidate that’s running at the top of the ticket. Raising all the money, doing all the things, running around the entire state, but it’s not enough,” Crockett said, alluding to Beto O’Rourke’s 2018 campaign for Senate against Ted Cruz.

O’Rourke lost by 200,000 votes in the closest state race for Senate in decades.

“For me, I don’t think it should be a matter of one thing that is getting me to the polls; I think it has to be something that’s a little bit more in a state like Texas. I think that making sure people that maybe are getting overshadowed because it only seems its about one big race, I think amplifying them, making sure I can raise their profiles and introducing them to people? That’ll give something more to voters to make them say, ‘You know what? It may be raining outside, but I gotta go get there for this person and that person, plus I don’t like Trump.”

Crockett also explained that she would lend her support down-ballot because she was unable to do so while campaigning against Talarico in their contested Democratic primary earlier this year.

The Senate race in Texas has garnered headlines for what has and has not been said regarding the two Texas Democrats who were vying to unseat incumbent John Cornyn. The race on both sides of the aisle has seen mudslinging, as Paxton, the state’s Attorney General, has weathered numerous controversies and routed Cornyn in May’s runoff election, setting up a showdown with Talarico.

The 37-year-old Talarico has lent vocal support to Crockett, defending her in a viral moment during a town hall and understands why she was focusing on down-ballot candidates rather than his Senate race.

“She is now helping down-ballot candidates all over the state, which is critical if we’re gonna build the movement we need at a deep level in communities across Texas,” Talarico told TheGrio in July. “She is doing the work [and] she has done more than enough to help us,” he said. “Winning this campaign is my job as the Democratic nominee, and we’re grateful for the Congresswoman’s support.”

When asked whether he’d welcome Crockett to join him on the campaign trail, Talarico said he would be “honored.”

“She’s one of the most talented campaigners in the country,” he said. “I know she’s focused on down-ballot candidates, but she has an open invitation to join me anytime.”