Democratic firebrand Rep. Jasmine Crockett announced Dec. 8 she will run for the Senate in Texas, according to her website, complicating matters for a party that hasn't claimed a statewide win in over 35 years.

The Dallas lawmaker's bid sets off a competitive primary with state Rep. James Talarico, who like Crockett is regarded as a rising star for Democrats. A prolific fundraiser, Crockett soared to national prominence with her quippy cable news responses while hitting back at Republican colleagues like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene in congressional hearings. A video on Crockett's campaign site opens with President Donald Trump repeatedly insulting her.

Democrats have thrown themselves into an intraparty debate about the electability of both Crockett and Talarico among Texas voters after former Rep. Colin Allred dropped out of the race earlier in the day, opting to run for a Dallas seat in Congress instead. "Our movement is rooted in unity over division − so we welcome Congresswoman Crockett into this race," Talarico said in a Monday statement.

The Senate race in Texas is set to be one of the most watched and complicated elections in the country leading up to next year's midterms.

Crockett is an attorney and Texas state representative whose personal approach has occasionally landed her in hot water while garnering headlines.

The progressive House member once referred to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who uses a wheelchair, as "Governor Hot Wheels" and falsely claimed last month that EPA administrator Lee Zeldin, former Utah Sen. Mitt Romney and an unspecified George Bush were among Republicans who received campaign contributions from convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

After Greene insulted Crockett's false eyelashes during a heated hearing last year, the Texas Democrat called the Georgia Republican a "bleach blonde bad built butch body" in an exchange that delighted the Democrats' base.

Talarico, a former schoolteacher, was a public face of Texas Democrats' highly publicized effort to flee the Lone Star State over the summer during a redistricting battle with Republicans. Talarico is studying to be a Presbyterian minister and often infuses his faith into political arguments, which centrists believe can capture independent Texas voters and some Republicans.

Stark Republican primary

Meanwhile, incumbent Sen. John Cornyn faces a competitive primary battle of his own with embattled Texas Attorney Gen. Ken Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt, who entered the race without the approval of the national GOP.

Paxton is a staunch Trump ally who has frustrated fellow Republicans with his personal behavior in recent years. He faced a 2023 impeachment trial and a highly publicized divorce with estranged wife, Texas state Sen. Angela Paxton, who's accused him of adultery. One of the only Black Republicans in Congress, Hunt is a veteran who has served suburban Houston in Congress since 2023.

Crockett is seen as a likely frontrunner among Texas primary voters, according to a University of Houston/Texas Southern University poll released in October.

Texas Democrats have failed to win a statewide race since former Gov. Ann Richards won the governorship in 1990. Still, there have been bright spots.

Former Rep. Beto O'Rourke came within less than three percentage points of beating Republican Sen. Ted Cruz in 2018, but Allred lost handily to Cruz who cruised to re-election by nearly 8.5% last year. Cornyn beat his last opponent, veteran M.J. Hegar, by nearly 10 points during the 2020 race.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Democratic firebrand Jasmine Crockett enters US Senate race in Texas

Reporting by Jay Stahl, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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