DALLAS—Texas State Rep. James Talarico has defeated Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) in a nationally-watched contest for the Democratic Senate nomination.
The Associated Press declared Talarico the victor at 2:37 a.m. ET on March 4. Polls closed at 8 p.m. ET on March 3.
Talarico's victory marks the culmination of an expensive and contentious race that has pitted different factions of the Democratic Party against each other.
Though the race has been called, Crockett has indicated that she plans to file a lawsuit challenging the results due to confusion among some voters in Dallas County about where they were supposed to vote.
Speaking to her supporters Tuesday night, Crockett said that because of that confusion, "people have been disenfranchised."
Crockett said the outcome of the race wouldn’t be known until Dallas County’s votes are counted. She left her watch party before 10 p.m., telling supporters she would not speak again that night.
Ahead of midterms that could prove challenging to Republicans, many Democrats in the Lone Star State dream of sending one of their own to the Senate for the first time in decades.
That hope animated many of the state representative’s supporters.
Carrie McKenna, a Talarico voter in Round Rock, told The Epoch Times outside a polling place that she thinks the state representative “plays good on the media.”
“I think they’re both good,” she said of Talarico and Crockett.
A Competitive Primary
Talarico dominated suburban areas outside Texas’s major cities as well as West Texas, while Crockett drew on a base in those large cities and East Texas.Talarico, who garnered more than $22 million in advertising support according to AdImpact, has touted the backing of key newspapers as well as Democratic organizations throughout the state.
Talarico benefited from significant media exposure, including an interview with Stephen Colbert that was disseminated on YouTube rather than CBS.
Crockett, who received less than $5 million in advertising support per AdImpact, notched one of the most coveted Democratic endorsements late in the contest—a nod from former Vice President Kamala Harris.
Texan Democrats Rally
In Round Rock, Talarico hosted an Election Day rally outside a donut shop.One of the attendees, Teresa Barrera, told The Epoch Times she knew the candidate from church, St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Austin.
Talarico, a seminarian, has emphasized his Christian faith while campaigning throughout the state.
“He talks as he believes, and he doesn’t back down,” said Barrera, who added that she voted for Talarico.
Another Talarico supporter at the rally, Philip Fitzgerald, told The Epoch Times he thinks Talarico “has done a great job of reaching out to the working-class people.”
“Our problem is not with our neighbors so much as it is with the billionaires in our country,” he said.