Democrats' ambitious strategy to reclaim the US Senate in the pivotal 2026 midterm elections faces a significant internal hurdle in Texas, where controversial comments from a leading candidate threaten to alienate a vital voting bloc.
Controversial remarks risk alienating Hispanic voters
Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, a two-term Democratic representative from Dallas now seeking her party's nomination for a Texas Senate seat, has caused unease among colleagues with past statements concerning Latino and immigrant communities. This is a critical concern in a state where roughly 40 percent of the population is Hispanic.
The controversy stems from a 2025 video, unearthed by conservative social media users, in which Crockett told a Connecticut church congregation that immigrants perform jobs many Americans, including Black Americans, refuse to do. "The fact is ain’t none of y’all trying to go and farm right now," she stated. "We’re done picking cotton. You can't pay us enough to find a plantation."
These remarks are not isolated. Crockett also faced backlash last year for derisively referring to Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who uses a wheelchair, as "Governor Hot Wheels."
Primary challenge and general election fears
Democratic strategists are particularly worried about the impact on both the primary and the general election. Chuck Rocha, a veteran of Senator Bernie Sanders's presidential campaign, warned that such messaging could be detrimental. "I probably see this harming her more in the primary than the general, even though it's detrimental because there's more Latinos that would vote in the general," Rocha told The Independent.
Crockett faces a primary challenge from Texas state representative James Talarico, a populist figure from Austin who has garnered praise from figures like podcaster Joe Rogan. The winner will then confront a fractured Republican field in the general election for the seat held by incumbent Senator John Cornyn.
Republicans, sensing an opportunity, have reportedly circulated polls showing Crockett leading, believing her caustic rhetoric and liberal record would make her unelectable statewide. The GOP primary itself is contentious, with Attorney General Ken Paxton—a hard-right MAGA favourite—and Congressman Wesley Hunt challenging the more traditional conservative Cornyn.
A shifting political landscape in Texas
The Democratic calculus for flipping the long-held Republican seat relies heavily on maximising turnout and support from Hispanic voters, a demographic whose loyalty has fluctuated. In the 2024 election, Donald Trump shocked many by winning historically Democratic, majority-Hispanic areas of the Rio Grande Valley, despite his harsh rhetoric on immigration.
However, a national backlash in 2025 against Trump-era mass deportation policies and the rising cost of living saw Hispanic voters swing back toward Democrats in races across the country. "The goal there is to get Latinos to turn out," explained Rocha, citing anger over immigration enforcement and economic pressures.
Despite the concerns of some in her party, Crockett defended herself in a December interview, contrasting her language with that of Republicans like Trump and pointing to her legislative record. "I get to point to the fact that I've traveled this country and I am standing side by side with my brown brothers and sisters in this fight," she said.
The coming months will test whether her high-profile, aggressive style—which earned her a prime speaking role at the Democratic National Convention after a fiery 2024 exchange with Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene—is an asset or a liability in one of the nation's most closely watched and consequential Senate races.
