Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX), who launched her Texas Senate campaign this week, pointed to Mamdani-Trump, AOC-Trump, and Obama-Trump voters when pressed on Tuesday about the challenging path ahead in the race.
MS NOW host Chris Hayes pressed Crockett on whether she could win the “8 to 10% of Republican voters necessary to win this race,” pointing to voters who backed both Trump and Democrats like Zohran Mamdani, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Barack Obama. Crockett rejected the idea that she must win over a share of GOP voters, saying her focus is on energizing the Democratic base in ways past candidates have not.
Hayes pointed to Georgia’s Senate races as a model, noting that Sens. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff drove strong turnout but also secured key crossover voters. Crockett acknowledged Texas is a tough state for Democrats but argued some Trump voters are dissatisfied, pointing to a recent Tennessee congressional race that was far closer than in previous years.
Notably, Crockett is trying to become the first Democrat since 1988 to win a U.S. Senate race in Texas.
Crockett told Hayes the following:
“I don’t think anyone who is super in love with Trump would ever vote for me or any other Democrat. That is just the reality. I think what it is, is who is going to talk to people and make them understand that they will fight for them. That is why you have Mamdani-Trump voters. That is why you have AOC-Trump voters. That is why you had Obama-Trump voters. Let me tell you something, Mamdani has not backed down whatsoever from his rhetoric against the president in the Oval Office. He stood there and he said what he said about him being a fascist. Yet he was able to win those voters. So, Democrats that believe the only way that you can win is by being soft and sounding like a Republican, that is not true.”
In a separate CNN interview Tuesday, Crockett likewise said winning over Trump supporters isn’t her “goal.” When host Laura Coates asked whether she needed their backing, Crockett rejected the premise.
“Our goal is to definitely talk to people. No, we don’t, we don’t need to. Our goal is to make sure that we can engage people that historically have not been talked to, because there’s so many people that get ignored, specifically in the state of Texas,” said Crockett.
🚨 HOLY CRAP! Jasmine Crockett TANKS her just-launched Texas US Senate campaign – tells Trump voters to SHOVE IT, she doesn’t need them
Q: Do you need to win Trump voters?
CROCKETT: “NO. We DON’T need to!” 😭😭
IT’S TEXAS…Trump+14! pic.twitter.com/WyjRN01BWf
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) December 9, 2025
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