Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) came up short last night in her bid to win for Democrats a Texas seat in the U.S. Senate. Victory in the Democratic primary was claimed by state representative James Talarico, who will face off against either John Cornyn or Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton; the GOP primary is heading to a runoff.
This Democratic primary has been closely watched for what it says about the future of Democrats’ strategy nationwide—not just in Texas. Crockett is known for going up against Republicans with a signature confrontational style and said she would be more focused on reaching new voters than persuading those who supported Trump; Talarico emphasized coalition-building across the state, campaigning in red districts too. A seminarian, his campaign often referenced economic justice through the lens of Christian faith. When it comes to policy, there wasn’t a clear progressive vs. moderate in this race; their differences mostly came down to strategy and political style. As the Texas Tribune put it, voters chose Talarico’s “offering of a political reset over Crockett’s promise to unapologetically wage partisan warfare against the GOP.”
The question of “electability” was a big one in this contest. Democrats were looking for a candidate who could flip Texas—no easy task. And the pressure was on to choose the right candidate, because Democrats think they have a real shot at it for the first time in years. Yet electability can be a loaded word, especially for Black women in politics. What makes someone electable?
Crockett had recently responded to those concerns. “Some people say, ‘Listen, there’s no way that Texas will support a Black woman,” she said. “We are a majority-minority state, we can start there. The reality is that I didn’t run because I was a woman. I ran because I’m qualified. At the end of the day. I just happened to be Black and woman, but I am the most qualified person in this. Period.” Right now, there are two Black women serving as U.S. senators—a high following a stretch when there were zero after Kamala Harris left for the White House.
Ultimately, Talarico won 52.8% of the vote to Crockett’s 45.9%. Crockett conceded this morning and said in a statement that “we must remain united because this is bigger than any one person.” While race and gender played an unavoidable role in this contest, political strategy and style were the biggest factors. In a year of reflection for Democrats, the party’s Texas voters decided that Crockett’s approach is not the one they trust to win.
Emma Hinchliffe
emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com
The Most Powerful Women Daily newsletter is Fortune’s daily briefing for and about the women leading the business world. Subscribe here.
ALSO IN THE HEADLINES
Starface raises $105 million. The pimple patch brand cofounded by Julie Schott and popular with Gen Z brought on new capital from Astō Consumer Partners and Align Ventures. It's projecting $150 million in 2026 revenue.
An activist group created a Virginia Giuffre Memorial Garden. They unofficially installed a sign honoring the late victim of Jeffrey Epstein in Buckingham Palace Gardens. Her campaigning "exposed sexual abuse by powerful men like Jeffrey Epstein and former prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor," the sign read.
Kristi Noem is on her second day of testimony. The Homeland Security secretary is before the Senate Judiciary Committee, answering questions about Alex Pretti and Renee Good's deaths in Minneapolis, her agency’s use of administrative warrants to search homes and private property, andwhether immigration officers will be deployed to polling places ahead of November’s midterm elections.
The House Oversight committee asks more figures in Epstein's orbit to testify. Letters went out to Bill Gates, Leon Black, and departing Goldman general counsel Kathy Ruemmler. And this new story from New York Magazine is remarkable: publicist Peggy Siegal attempts to explain her years-long relationship with Epstein.
ON MY RADAR
Ignoring female-led firms isn't just wrong, it's commercial madness The Times
On the fence about having kids? Read this book The Cut
Impacted by the estrogen patch shortage? Here are your options The 19th
PARTING WORDS
"They wanted you to be messy and sexually available. And if you weren’t, they didn’t like it. So you got painted as boring, and I was like: 'I’ll take it.'"
— Corinne Bailey Rae on critics' response to her music in the 2000s
