The Senate Democratic primary in Texas has taken an ugly turn, with the increased infighting threatening to complicate the party\u2019s chances of flipping the seat in November.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The most notable incident came this week when former Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas), the Democratic nominee for Senate last cycle, ripped state Rep. James Talarico (D) for allegedly calling him a \u201cmediocre Black man.\u201d Talarico said the comments were a mischaracterization and that he was referring to Allred\u2019s method of campaigning, not Allred personally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yet the escalating feud between Talarico and primary rival Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) \u2014 who quickly threw her support behind Allred in a statement without mentioning Talarico by name \u2014 is rattling some Democrats, who view it as an unhelpful distraction ahead of the March 3 primary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019re taking our eye off the ball,\u201d said Texas Democratic consultant Joel Montfort. \u201cBut that this is what Democrats are very good at doing. \u2026 We become distracted and we start infighting over things that aren\u2019t particularly beneficial to winning races.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The race for the Democratic nod for Sen. John Cornyn\u2019s (R-Texas) seat has started to ramp up in recent weeks amid heated conversations around electability and polling suggesting the primary is getting tighter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Crockett, a Black former Texas state lawmaker and civil rights attorney currently serving in the House, is seen by some as a controversial Senate candidate given some of her online and viral exchanges, including referring to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R), who\u2019s in a wheelchair, as \u201chot wheels\u201d and former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) as having a \u201cbleach-blonde, bad-built butch body.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last month, two comedians apologized after they said on a podcast not to support Crockett over Talarico, a white Presbyterian seminarian and former middle school teacher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The discourse has irked some members of the party, who believe the conversation is aimed at discouraging voters from backing the Black candidate in the race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou\u2019re running in the Democratic primary against U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett and there\u2019s been a lot of discourse around her electability, and some would say that is code for they don\u2019t think a Black woman can win statewide,\u201d \u201cThe View\u201d co-host Sunny Hostin told Talarico during his appearance on the show Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Talarico said during that appearance he would fully back her if she became the nominee and believed she could win statewide in Texas, calling her a \u201cfriend\u201d and saying he had \u201cdeep love and respect for her.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile, Punchbowl News reported last week, citing a top Crockett supporter, that the congresswoman\u2019s campaign is planning a rollout of attack ads targeting Talarico.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although Crockett\u2019s team has not confirmed the reporting, Talarico responded with a statement stressing that the primary \u201cshould be a positive race\u201d focused on their records.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The back-and-forth came just days after the Democratic rivals squared off in their first debate, a largely cordial event that saw both sides emphasize points of agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Both Democrats are seen as ideologically similar, making the race more about approach and tone, with Talarico perceived to be more measured and Crockett cast as a firebrand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt becomes \u2026 seemingly inevitable that almost all of these things start devolving into some sort of negative vein as we get closer to the elections,\u201d Montfort said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although voters do respond to negative primary material, there\u2019s \u201ca huge risk\u201d it could backfire in the general election, he argued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt can completely undermine their campaign. You\u2019ve got to be very careful what you do in the primary, because it can come back in the general with your real opponent.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The primary took a surprising turn this week when a TikTok user alleged in a series of videos on her account that Talarico described Allred as a \u201cmediocre Black man\u201d and Crockett as a \u201cformidable\u201d and \u201cintelligent Black woman\u201d during a private conversation last month. The influencer said she didn\u2019t have a recording of the conversation but defended the accuracy of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The comments angered Allred, who slammed the Texas state lawmaker and said he would endorse Crockett in the race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFirst of all, let me just give you some free advice, James: If you want to compliment Black women, just do it. Just do it,\u201d Allred said in a video. \u201cDon\u2019t do it while also tearing down a Black man.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Talarico in a statement argued the remarks mischaracterized his comments, saying he was referring solely to Allred\u2019s campaign strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s unfortunate that at the start of Black History Month, this is what we\u2019re facing,\u201d Crockett said in her statement supporting Allred.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Monique Alcala, a former executive director for the Texas Democratic Party who worked closely with Allred\u2019s Senate campaign last cycle, thought Talarico\u2019s comments were \u201cin poor taste.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yet she suggested Democrats could still keep themselves competitive heading into November \u201cas long as we\u2019re focused on working together and not all \u2026 this petty infighting and letting influencers drive the discourse.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Democratic strategist Caitlin Legacki also suggested the recent infighting was unlikely to make a dent among voters in the fall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI have a hard time believing there are any voters \u2014 persuadable or otherwise \u2014 who are going to make their voting decisions in November based on [a social media] spat in February,\u201d she told The Hill in a text message.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Recent polling has shown an increasingly tight race between the two Democrats as they vie for the nomination next month. An early January Emerson College Polling\/Nexstar Media survey found Talarico up 9 points over Crockett in the primary, with 15 percent undecided.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A Texas Public Opinion Research poll released last week found the Democratic rivals neck and neck, with 38 percent supporting Crockett and 37 percent for Talarico. Another 21 percent were undecided.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cornyn and Paxton also appear to be in a dead heat on the GOP side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In hypothetical general election match-ups, the Emerson poll found Cornyn bested Talarico by 3 points and Crockett by 5 points. Talarico and Crockett both tied Paxton in their respective match-ups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The infighting couldn\u2019t come at a worse time for Democrats, who were riding high after flipping a Trump-won state Senate seat in Texas over the weekend, making them more bullish about their chances there in November. The results have raised concerns among Republicans about what it could mean for them in the fall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s going to be really up to these candidates to be able to really draw a distinction with themselves,\u201d said Matt Angle, a Democratic strategist who founded the Democrat-focused Lone Star Project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere\u2019s something to be said for a competitive primary in order to really suss out the stronger candidate, and a part of that is being able to take a punch and throw a punch. And so I think that\u2019s what we\u2019re going to see over the next several weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n