Texas U.S. Senate race sees major shakeup as social media buzz grows
The race for U.S. Senate in Texas just got a whole lot more interesting after several candidates announced their next moves.
The U.S. Senate race in Texas is generating a lot of social media interest after several candidates announced their plans going forward. For months, the race on both sides of the aisle remained unchanged. Before this week, on the Democratic side, former Rep. Colin Allred and State Rep. James Talarico were the only candidates who were running in the primary. While on the Republican side, Sen. John Cornyn, Ken Paxton, and Rep. Wesley Hunt are all vying for the nomination.
What has changed?
In the early hours on Monday, Dec. 8, former Congressman Colin Allred announced that he would be withdrawing from the race for U.S. Senate to pursue another run for Congress, choosing to face-off against Rep. Julie Johnson (D) in Texas’ 33 congressional district.
Once the announcement from Allred dropped, social media lit up with people discussing how this decision will impact the race moving forward. And just a few hours after Allred announced his plans, Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D) appeared before a Dallas crowd of supporters to launch a last-minute campaign for U.S. Senate.
Rumors had been spreading for months that Crockett was considering a run for U.S. Senate among other positions and it looks like she has finally made her decision.
State of the race
With the deadline to file for office now behind us, the race for U.S. Senate is much more clear. Although both sides still have multiple candidates running, Crockett’s entrance dramatically changes the overall calculations.
While it’s true Colin Allred and James Talarico were both trailing potential Republicans in a general election match-up, a new Change Research poll found that Crockett would actually perform the worst out of all the candidates.
The same poll also found that among voters who are familiar with all of the candidates, James Talarico holds the highest statewide approval rating at 48%, with a 30-point gap over his 18% unfavorable rating. Jasmine Crockett’s numbers reflect a more divided electorate. The poll shows 40% of voters viewing her favorably and 48% unfavorably, indicating room for her to grow her statewide support. It also notes that 49% of respondents say they “would definitely not vote” for her.
On the Republican side of the race, things are much, much quieter. Lately, Texas Republican leaders have been urging Wesley Hunt to drop out, as they would prefer the race to be head-to-head match-up between a traditional Republican figure like Cornyn, and a far-right firebrand like Paxton.
The latest poll from J.L. Partners, Ken Paxton is leading with a plurality of voters at 29%, followed by a tie between Cornyn and Hunt at 24% support.
What’s next
The polling for this race is still pretty sparse and nothing in politics is predetermined. It is very possible that the dynamics of this race will continue to change as each candidate charts their own path. For now, voters will have to wait and see how these campaigns will evolve before picking their candidate in the Spring primaries.