{"id":602119,"date":"2026-02-19T23:39:19","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T23:39:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/602119\/"},"modified":"2026-02-19T23:39:19","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T23:39:19","slug":"in-fort-worth-jasmine-crockett-tells-voters-judge-me-on-my-qualifications","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/602119\/","title":{"rendered":"In Fort Worth, Jasmine Crockett tells voters \u2018judge me on my qualifications\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

FORT WORTH \u2014 U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett on Thursday forcefully pushed back against the notion that she can\u2019t win the Senate general election, a narrative that persists <\/a>in the run-up to the March 3 primary against state Rep. James Talarico of Austin.<\/p>\n

Crockett said as a civil rights lawyer, small-business owner, former state representative and sitting member of Congress, she has more experience than Talarico, her Democratic rival who is a white man. Crockett said Texas\u2019 population is 61% people of color who can influence general elections.<\/p>\n

Related<\/p>\n

\"Democratic<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you say I\u2019m not electable, what do you mean?\u201d Crockett asked during a news conference after an appearance at the Potter\u2019s House in Fort Worth. <\/p>\n

In remarks at the Potter\u2019s House, she said it was important to judge her on her qualifications.<\/p>\n

Political Points<\/p>\n

Get the latest politics news from North Texas and beyond.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI\u2019m not running because I am Black or because I\u2019m a woman. I\u2019m running because I am the most experienced person in this race,\u201d Crockett said. <\/p>\n

Crockett also evoked the name of Ann Richards, the last Democrat to serve as Texas governor.<\/p>\n

\"Chitra<\/p>\n

Chitra Calderon, 20, takes a selfie with U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, Democratic primary candidate for U.S. Senate (center), at Oak Lawn Branch Library on the first day of early voting, Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026, in Dallas.<\/p>\n

El\u00edas Valverde II \/ Staff Photographer<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you know your history, there also was this \u2018she\u2019s not electable thing,\u2019\u201d Crockett told supporters. \u201cIt tends to be said about women.\u201d<\/p>\n

Crockett, who lives in Dallas, entered the Senate race with a lead over Talarico, which most polls show she maintains.<\/p>\n

But Talarico gained steam this week when late-night talk show host Stephen Colbert posted a segment<\/a> with the candidate online after CBS said it was advised that broadcasting the segment on the regular show could trigger Federal Communications Commission equal time rules, requiring other candidates in the race be given similar exposure.<\/p>\n

The segment racked up millions of views on YouTube, and Talarico raised $2.5 million in 24 hours.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, a super PAC backing Talarico has aired negative ads questioning Crockett\u2019s electability and using a grimy filter, prompting Crockett to accuse the group of \u201cdarkening my skin\u201d and saying the attacks are \u201cstraight up racist\u201d and undermine party unity.<\/p>\n

In response, Talarico reiterated his support for eliminating super PACs but declined to criticize the ads, saying, \u201cLegally, I cannot do anything about what any super PAC does.\u201d He added that adding he avoids watching outside spots \u201cfor my own mental health.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Rep.<\/p>\n

Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas, speaks during a press conference following the congressional deposition of Les Wexner in the Jeffrey Epstein case, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026, in New Albany, Ohio. (AP Photo\/Joshua A. Bickel)<\/p>\n

Joshua A. Bickel \/ AP<\/p>\n

On Thursday Crockett criticized Talarico for not standing firmly against the super PAC ads.<\/p>\n

\u201cAny elected representative needs to always be very clear on certain things,\u201d Crockett said. \u201cGranted, we are not allowed to coordinate with super PACs whatsoever, but it\u2019s not like they\u2019re not watching.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just frustrating,\u201d Crockett said of the ads. \u201cAs a Black woman and a civil rights lawyer, I stand up, I speak out on behalf of everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Crockett, who is juggling her duties in Congress with running for Senate, had a full day of campaigning in North Texas. She had \u201cconversations\u201d with voters in Fort Worth and Richardson, as well as appearances in Irving and Waxahachie.<\/p>\n

In Fort Worth, Crockett urged her supporters to tune out the noise and vote.<\/p>\n

\"Primary<\/p>\n

Primary candidates for U.S. Senate Rep. Jasmine Crockett (right), D-Dallas, and state Rep. James Talarico, D-Austin, participate in a debate during the Texas AFL-CIO Committee on Political Education Convention, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, in Georgetown. (Bob Daemmrich\/Texas Tribune via AP, Pool)<\/p>\n

Bob Daemmrich \/ AP<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to focus on things like actually increasing turnout,\u201d Crockett said. \u201cI connect with people that are not OK with politics as usual \u2026 leaning in and grabbing those folk up and getting them involved, that is where the win comes from.\u201d<\/p>\n

Forest Hill resident Nicole Pruitt said Crockett is the best choice to win the Senate seat.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe stood for us when others were too afraid to do so,\u201d Pruitt said. \u201cShe is tough.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FORT WORTH \u2014 U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett on Thursday forcefully pushed back against the notion that she can\u2019t…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":602120,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5138],"tags":[5229,69,7371,7372,23232,45812,25227,18880,80,358,3187,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":["post-602119","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fort-worth","tag-america","tag-donald-trump","tag-fort-worth","tag-fortworth","tag-james-talarico","tag-jasmine-crockett","tag-john-cornyn","tag-ken-paxton","tag-politics","tag-texas","tag-tx","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116099938596252334","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/602119","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=602119"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/602119\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/602120"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=602119"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=602119"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=602119"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}