Rep. Jasmine Crockett has emerged as the frontrunner in the race for the Democratic nomination in Texas’s 2026 U.S. Senate primary, according to a recent poll conducted by the University of Houston’s Hobby School of Public Affairs.
With just under a month until the March primary, the survey of likely Democratic voters shows Crockett commanding 47 percent support, significantly ahead of state Rep. James Talarico at 39 percent, and Ahmad Hassan at two percent. Twelve percent of voters remain undecided.
Crockett’s current lead is bolstered by her strong favorability among likely Democratic primary voters, with 84 percent viewing her positively and only eight percent unfavorably. She is also well-known among the electorate, with 92 percent indicating they know enough about her to form an opinion. Talarico trails slightly in name recognition at 85 percent, with 79 percent favorable and six percent unfavorable ratings.
Crockett registers the highest favorable ratings among general election voters at 45 percent, narrowly ahead of Talarico at 43 percent. However, she also faces a 36 percent unfavorable rating, compared to 23 percent for Talarico. Awareness among the broader electorate is slightly stronger for Crockett (81 percent) than for Talarico (66 percent), though both trail GOP figures such as Paxton (89 percent) and Cornyn (86 percent) in overall recognition.
The FCC is currently investigating The View over potential violations of equal-time rules after both Jasmine Crockett and James Talarico appeared on the program. Crockett received approximately 17 minutes of airtime across three segments, while Talarico appeared in a single nine-minute segment. Under FCC guidance issued in January, all legally filed candidates must be given comparable airtime. Crockett’s appearance occurred before the agency announced its policy enforcement.
Crockett has positioned herself as a vocal opponent of President Donald Trump — whom she has described as “more corrupt and more criminal than any other president” — as well as his administration and the Republican Party more broadly, asserting that “It is MAGA. It is the specifically MAGA faction” responsible for “all” political violence.
She believes some Republican voters will support her in the general election because they value authenticity and her willingness to work across the aisle. “What they want is somebody that they know who they are,” Crockett said during a televised interview. “So I have text messages from Republicans that have made it clear that if there is a certain person that ends up making it through, they are absolutely voting for me because they know who I am.” She added, “They know that I know the issues. They know that I know how to work across the aisle when necessary. And they also know that I don’t take any mess.”
In an interview on the Grounded podcast, she stated, “There are crimes that are committed, not because people are criminals, but because they literally are trying to survive.” She cited Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot’s past decision not to prosecute low-level theft involving food or diapers, adding, “There is no good point in doing it because a decent defense attorney would have a defense.” While acknowledging that not all people in poverty turn to crime, she argued there is “a direct link between poverty and susceptibility to having to engage in certain things.”
During a House debate, Crockett falsely claimed that EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin had received campaign donations from convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. In reality, the donor was a different individual — a New York physician with the same name. Zeldin replied, “Yes Crockett, a physician named Dr. Jeffrey Epstein (who is a totally different person than the other Jeffrey Epstein) donated to a prior campaign of mine,” adding, “NO FREAKIN RELATION, YOU GENIUS!” Despite the public correction and documentation confirming the donor’s identity, Crockett has not issued a public correction or clarification.
Crockett was reported to have held undisclosed stock in a number of sectors, including pharmaceuticals, fossil fuels, and cannabis, during her early political career. Public records indicated that she pursued cannabis-related business interests while advocating for marijuana decriminalization legislation. Crockett has said she supports full recreational and medical legalization of cannabis.
Crockett argued that the Democratic Party suffers from weak communication and promoted her large social media following as evidence that she was best equipped to fill the leadership role on the House Oversight Committee. “It’s like, there’s one clear person in the race that has the largest social-media following,” she told The Atlantic, also highlighting “the hundreds of thousands of views she had received on a recent YouTube video.” She later withdrew from the leadership race after finishing last in a caucus vote, saying, “It was clear by the numbers that my style of leadership is not exactly what they were looking for and so I didn’t think that it was fair for me to then push forward.”
Chairwoman Lisa McClain (R-MI) shared photographs on social media showing Crockett with a uniformed police escort at an airport and wrote that Crockett bypassed other passengers in the security line, including individuals with disabilities. Crockett has not publicly responded to the incident.