State Rep. James Talarico is ahead in the Democratic primary for Senate in Texas, with the race too close to call as of Tuesday night amid controversy of voting issues in Dallas County.
Talarico, a state representative from the Austin suburbs, held an early edge over Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) of Dallas in a closely watched contest that tested competing visions for how Democrats can compete statewide. The winner will face the Republican nominee in November for the seat currently held by Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX).
The Associated Press reported Talarico in front Tuesday with 79% of the vote counted. Talarico had 53% to Crockett’s 45.7%.
“Tonight, our campaign is shocking the nation,” Talarico said as he addressed his supporters around midnight. “We are still waiting for an official call, but we are confident in this movement we’ve built together. Every vote must be counted.”
Speaking to supporters at her watch party Tuesday night, Crockett warned that confusion surrounding voting hours in Dallas County could delay the final outcome.
The Texas Supreme Court granted a request from Attorney General Ken Paxton to halt a Dallas County judge’s order extending voting hours to 9 p.m. Central time, directing election officials to separate ballots cast by anyone who was not already in line by 7 p.m.
Crockett said the ruling could complicate efforts to determine which voters qualified.
“I have no idea how clerks are going to know who was in line by what time,” Crockett said.
Because Dallas County is expected to produce a large share of Democratic votes, Crockett said the dispute could delay the overall outcome.
“In my opinion, we will not know the election results overall tonight,” she said.
The primary marked Democrats’ first major Senate battleground of the 2026 cycle and offered an early test of whether the party can break a decades long statewide losing streak. Democrats have not won a Senate race in Texas since 1988, and the contest underscored sharply different theories about how to expand the map in a state that President Donald Trump carried by nearly 14 percentage points in 2024.
Talarico ran on a faith-centered message, frequently referencing Scripture and holding rallies in heavily Republican areas to broaden the Democratic coalition beyond its traditional urban base. Crockett leaned into her national profile, built in part on attention-grabbing clashes with Republicans, while focusing heavily on mobilizing Black voters in the Dallas and Houston regions.
At Talarico’s watch party Tuesday night, supporters said that approach was a major reason they backed his campaign.
Raquel Kosted, 26, said she and her partner had never donated to a political candidate before but decided to contribute after following Talarico online.
“What resonated with us was him calling out hypocrisy and trying to build bridges rather than using divisive rhetoric,” Kosted said. “We really liked that he led with his faith in a positive way.”
Casey Hatcher, 40, said Talarico’s rhetoric stood out because it emphasized shared values rather than ideological labels.
“He speaks a very hopeful message and is very good at unifying people,” Hatcher said. “He talks about things like integrity and compassion in a way people across the political spectrum can connect with.”
The financial dynamics of the race shifted over time. By late February, Talarico had outspent Crockett on television advertising by more than 4 to 1. He also drew national attention after CBS declined to air a taped interview with late-night host Stephen Colbert. Colbert said the network withheld the segment over concerns about possible scrutiny from Trump’s Federal Communications Commission. Talarico’s campaign said it raised $2.5 million in the 24 hours after the interview was streamed online instead of airing on television.
Polling throughout the race reflected a competitive contest. The RealClearPolitics average in early March showed Talarico leading 52.3% to 42.3%, with surveys from YouGov, Emerson, and Chism/Blueprint all showing him ahead.
CROCKETT SAYS DALLAS COUNTY VOTING DISPUTE COULD DELAY TEXAS SENATE PRIMARY RESULTS
Crockett posted advantages in earlier academic polling, leading by 8 points in a late January University of Houston survey and by 12 points in a University of Texas poll conducted in early to mid-February.
Both candidates argued they were best positioned to compete in November in a state where Democrats have struggled to win statewide for more than three decades.
