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\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WASHINGTON \u2013 Texas\u2019 Democratic Senate candidates mixed it up in their first debate Saturday, offering competing ideas on what will attract voters and finally end the party\u2019s three-decade losing streak in statewide politics.<\/p>\n
During the largely friendly forum, hosted by the Texas AFL-CIO in Georgetown, Texas, U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Dallas and state Rep. James Talarico of Austin trained their sharpest attacks on President Donald Trump and Republican policies.<\/p>\n
Both blamed Trump for economic insecurity at home and instability abroad, criticized the administration\u2019s aggressive immigration enforcement and said GOP actions are driving up costs for families.<\/p>\n
Crockett said she\u2019s the best one to make that case in the general election because she does the edgy things no political consultant would recommend but are demanded by the unprecedented times.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis isn\u2019t about games. It\u2019s not about politics as usual. It\u2019s not about who sounds as clean as possible,\u201d she said. \u201cIt is about tapping into the rawness of this moment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Talarico urged voters to look at his record as a state lawmaker, standing up to the agendas of billionaire donors financing Republican campaigns.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will not win this race in November with the same old politics of division,\u201d he said. \u201cBillionaires want us looking left and right at each other, so we\u2019re not looking up at them.\u201d<\/p>\n
The contrast reflected a broader party debate this year: whether Democrats win by mobilizing frustrated voters through confrontation or by broadening the electorate through outreach, even as both candidates left the stage unified in their criticism of Republicans.<\/p>\n
It was voters\u2019 first opportunity to see them side-by-side ahead of the March 3 primary. The setting also gave them a chance to appeal directly to the Texas AFL-CIO before the union decides its coveted statewide endorsements, which could come as early as Sunday.<\/p>\n
Both candidates aligned closely with labor, talking up protections for workers.<\/p>\n
Organized labor has long been influential in Democratic campaigns, typically bringing financial and rhetorical support, along with volunteers knocking on doors, making calls and getting supporters to the polls.<\/p>\n
Crockett is known as an unapologetic rhetorical brawler whose sharp takedowns of Republican foes produce viral online clips.<\/p>\n
The former public defender and civil rights attorney said her brand of unflinching straight talk will pull alienated Democratic voters off the sidelines.<\/p>\n
Asked to explain why her blunt style is the right approach to win statewide, she pointed to polling she said showed her leading among working-class voters, Black men and women.<\/p>\n
She said Texans want a nominee \u201cunafraid in the face of what we are facing right now,\u201d including what she described as a president who \u201cbelieves he\u2019s a king.\u201d<\/p>\n
Talarico, a former middle school teacher, has said he can deliver victory by focusing on building a coalition and appealing to disaffected Trump voters.<\/p>\n
Asked about his style, Talarico said he\u2019s been fighting at the state level against billionaires pushing for Gov. Greg Abbott\u2019s \u201cprivate school voucher scam.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need a proven fighter for our schools, for our values, for our constituents in the halls of power in Washington,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Both candidates slammed what they called the administration\u2019s overly aggressive immigration enforcement, saying they support impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe absolutely have to clean house, whatever that looks like I am willing to do it,\u201d Crockett said when asked if she supports defunding or abolishing the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.<\/p>\n
Crockett said ICE isn\u2019t following the law and that by going after U.S. citizens and documented immigrants the agency is overstepping its bounds and \u201cturning us into Nazi Germany.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t understand how we are sitting here and acting like this is normal,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Talarico called ICE \u201cthis secret police force\u201d and said it should be replaced with one focused on public safety.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe should be cracking down on the cartels, not our communities,\u201d he said, adding that agents should be \u201cprosecuting gang members, not small business owners\u201d and \u201chunting down human traffickers, not moms and babies.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said Congress should prosecute agents who have abused their power and haul \u201cthese masked men\u201d before Congress so the world can see their faces.<\/p>\n
State Rep. James Talarico, left, and U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, Democratic primary candidates for U.S. Senate, shake hands prior to a debate at the Texas AFL-CIO COPE Convention in Georgetown, Texas on Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026.<\/p>\n
Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune via POOL<\/p>\n
Texas Democratic Senate Candidates Debate WASHINGTON \u2013 Texas\u2019 Democratic Senate candidates mixed it up in their first debate Saturday, offering competing ideas on what will attract voters and finally end the party\u2019s three-decade losing streak in statewide politics. During the largely friendly forum, hosted by the Texas AFL-CIO in Georgetown, Texas, U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":21351,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-21349","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/dmn-dallas-news-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com\/resizer\/v2\/RK7SIIYDAJGEXGQK5PNUYOU6ZE.jpg?auth=da57707e65a4cc3e8ba8a77bc642d3500d1c8a983a41fe0118e04a64e852dc92&quality=80&width=1200&height=630&smart=true","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21349"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21349"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21349\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21352,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21349\/revisions\/21352"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21351"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21349"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21349"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21349"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}