Crockett and Talarico ready for Senate debate as Democrats hope for breakthrough in GOP-heavy Texas

Democrats hoping to win a U.S. Senate race in Republican-heavy Texas have begun debating, their first meeting in a primary campaign that features a contrast of styles more than policy differences.

The debate between U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett and state Rep. James Talarico is taking place in Georgetown, Texas, as part of the Texas AFL-CIO's political convention before an audience of hundreds of union members and their families. The primary is March 3.

Crockett and Talarico are running for the seat held by four-term Republican Sen. John Cornyn, who faces two primary challengers. Democrats see Texas as potentially competitive in the November general election in their effort to reclaim the Senate majority, even though the state has not elected a Democrat to statewide office in more than 30 years.

Crockett is one of her party's most outspoken House members. Talarico is a soft-spoken former teacher with a rising national profile.

Crockett, a 44-year-old Dallas civil rights lawyer and former public defender who is in her second term, has built her national profile with a candid style marked by viral moments, including testy exchanges with House Republicans.

Talarico, who is 36 and represents suburban Austin, has had his own social media moments, notably in the form of talks on what he argues are the dangers of Christian nationalism.

Democrats need to gain a net of four seats in the midterm elections to retake the Senate majority. That is a tall order, given that most of the Senate races this year are in states that President Donald Trump carried in 2024.

Texas Attorney Gen. Ken Paxton and U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt are challenging Cornyn in the Republican primary. Some party strategists have worried that legal, ethical and personal questions about Paxton would require the GOP to spend many millions of dollars more to defend with advertising as Republicans also work to hold competitive seats in states such as North Carolina and Maine and try to pick up seats in Georgia and Michigan.

Paxton was acquitted of corruption charges in a 2023 impeachment trial and reached a deal to end a long-running federal securities fraud case in 2024. Paxton's wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, filed for divorce last year on the grounds that her husband had committed adultery.