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EXCLUSIVE: The chair of the Senate Republican campaign arm says that Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett’s entry into the high-profile Senate race in Texas is a key sign of the Democrats’ shift to the left.
“I think it says something about who the Democrats are nationally, not just in Texas. What it says is that they’ve been overrun by this radical left agenda that focuses on rhetoric, not reality,” National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) chair Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., claimed in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital on Monday.
Scott spoke soon after Crockett, the progressive firebrand and vocal critic of President Donald Trump and Republicans, filed paperwork and formally announced her 2026 campaign for the Senate.
Crockett’s campaign announcement, which was expected, will likely further rock a high-profile and heavily contested Senate race in Texas, which, on the Republican side, includes incumbent Sen. John Cornyn and GOP primary rivals state Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt.
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The race is one of a handful across the country that may determine if the GOP holds its Senate majority in next year’s midterm elections.
Scott — pointing to comments by Crockett comparing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in Democratic-led cities to “slave patrols” in southern states prior to the Civil War — said they were “disgusting, repugnant, but consistent with the philosophy of this new Democrat Party that’s filled with socialism.”
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The senator from South Carolina also highlighted Crockett’s comments last month to CNN praising New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani and saying that the democratic socialist politician “could do a Masterclass for all Democrats on communication.”
“I can’t think of a more clear depiction of what she believes is a path forward for Democrats,” Scott insisted.
Republicans have repeatedly aimed to make Mamdani the new face of the Democratic Party as they attempt to portray Democrats as far-left radicals.
The announcement by Crockett, a rising-star Democrat who has a large social media footprint thanks to her viral jabs at Republicans and her verbal sparing on social media with Trump, came hours after one of the two Democrats already running for the Senate in 2026 abandoned his bid.
Former Rep. Colin Allred, who was making his second straight bid for the Senate in right-leaning Texas, on Monday morning ended his campaign and instead launched a congressional campaign as he seeks to return to the House.
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But Democratic state Rep. James Talarico, a former middle school teacher and Presbyterian seminarian who is also seen as a rising Democratic Party star, remains in the Senate primary, setting up a face-off between two surging contenders with formidable fundraising.
Crockett’s entry into the Senate race, and her showdown with Talarico, may shift the spotlight off of the GOP primary, where Cornyn, the longtime incumbent who hails from the party’s establishment wing, has cut into the one-time large lead by Paxton, a MAGA firebrand, with Hunt in third.
The concern among Republicans is that Paxton, who has been battered over the past decade by a slew of scandals and legal problems and who is now dealing with a messy divorce, would put the seat in play if he won the GOP nomination. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Scott, and the NRSC are backing Cornyn.
But Crockett’s Senate candidacy may change the political equation. While her aggressive push-back against Trump and the GOP should play well with the left, it could deflate her chances of winning next November among Texas’ general election electorate.
Asked if Crockett’s entry into the race improves the GOP’s odds of holding the seat next year, Scott said: “The truth of the matter is a simple formula. John Cornyn, our nominee, Texas remains red. Period. Full stop. End of discussion.”
Scott said the NRSC is “focused on one thing and one thing only, and that’s keeping Texas red, and that means John Cornyn must be our nominee, and he wins, period. So it’s not who the Democrat is, it’s who we are. And John Cornyn is the best representative for Texas this cycle that we’ll ever see.”
By dropping out of the race, Allred will likely allow Democrats to avoid a costly and messy primary runoff in the spring, giving the party more time to consolidate around their nominee and raise much-needed campaign cash.
Meanwhile, with Cornyn, Paxton, and Hunt all taking aim at each other in a combustible primary, the GOP nomination appears headed towards a runoff, which would be triggered if no candidate tops 50% in the early March primary.
Asked if he’s concerned about the GOP nomination battle extending to a primary runoff, Scott predicted that “Cornyn will win the primary and Cornyn will win the general election.”
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