Maria Crane
Audio By Carbonatix
If you blinked yesterday, you may have missed the moment that the Democratic Senate primary blew up.
When Colin Allred, a former Dallas-area congressman who is now running for a new seat in the House, dropped his second bid for the Texas Senate in the 11th hour last December, many speculated that his friendship with Jasmine Crockett, the congresswoman who filed for the seat at the last moment, played a role. When Allred dropped out, he declined to immediately endorse Crockett during a CNN interview (she hadn’t officially filed yet), but added that he’d “have more to say” at a later date.
That endorsement finally came on Monday, albeit not in the form the politicians were likely expecting back in December.
In a social media video published Monday, Allred blasted Senate candidate James Talarico, a state representative from Round Rock, over allegations published to TikTok that Talarico had made a racially insensitive remark about Allred. The claim stems from a video that has been seen more than 70,000 times, in which a TikTok user by the name of Morgan claims that in a private, off-the-record conversation with Talarico, the Senate hopeful stated that he’d signed up to campaign against “a mediocre Black man,” meaning Allred, and not a “formidable, intelligent Black woman,” meaning Crockett.
Allred, standing in front of a squat rack and an American flag in what appears to be a garage, opens the video by saying there is steam “coming out of his ears,” and drags Talarico for having “the audacity and the temerity” to put a Black man down.
“Go vote for Jasmine Crockett,” said Allred. “This man should not be our nominee for United States Senate. I wasn’t going to get involved in this race. But listen, don’t come for me unless I send for you.”
According to Allred’s campaign, the nearly three-minute clip was the result of “frustration” that stems from the “impossible standards Black candidates are held to.” The campaign added that it reached out to the TikToker, Morgan, prior to Allred’s response to verify her claims and “confirm [the video’s] accuracy.” That being said, Morgan herself admits in the social media video that she does not have a recording or other evidence to substantiate the allegation.
In a statement published Monday night, the Talarico campaign described the comments as a “mischaracterization of a private conversation.” A spokesperson for the campaign told CNN that Talarico and an aide present in the room do not recall the statements being made.
“I described Congressman Allred’s campaigning as mediocre — but his life and service are not. I would never attack him on the basis of race,” said Talarico in a statement. “I understand how my critique of the Congressman’s campaign could be interpreted given this country’s painful legacy of racism, and I care deeply about the impact my words have on others.”
“We’re all on the same team,” Talarico added.
That’s where the problem may lie.
Within minutes of Allred’s video being published on Monday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, one of three Republicans vying for the Senate nomination, reposted the clip with an eyeballs emoji. In GenZ-speak, that translates roughly to “the girls are fighting.”
The latest polls show Talarico and Crockett in a dead heat for the Democratic nomination, but it is Talarico who Republicans have identified as a threat to the party’s 30-year statewide win streak. Last week, incumbent Sen. John Cornyn described Talarico as “dangerous” for the Republican Party. If that’s genuinely the feeling amongst the GOP, a little bit of Blue-on-Blue infighting just one month before election day would be welcome.
In her own statement, Crockett did not address the authenticity of the allegations made against her opponent, but commended Allred for “drawing a line in the sand.”
“If you know [Allred] like I do, you know he’s an even-tempered and measured person who doesn’t engage in pettiness. The times I’ve known he was heated is when it’s a fight worth having,” she said. “[I] pray that we can pull together and know that the Republicans are the ones hurting us the most and it is time for Texans to get leaders who will focus on them.”
