Read the full reported article from this conversation here
Read The Full Transcript Between Congresswoman and Alana Zarriello
Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett spoke with The San Antonio Observer editor Alana Zarriello just days after entering the U.S. Senate race, a move that reshaped the Democratic field and reignited conversations about strategy, unity, and whether change is possible in Texas.
Crockett’s bid for the Senate comes at a moment when voters and Texas Democrats are recalibrating, looking for momentum, clarity, and a reason to believe that change is still possible in a state long considered out of reach.
What Follows Is the Full Transcript of Our Conversation:
[Zarriello] Hi there, Congresswoman Crockett I appreciate you so much for making time. I know you just got out of session.
[Crockett] Hello. I’m well, busy, but well. We are not out of session [yet]. We’ve got all kinds of interesting things happening in D.C. It’s all right. You know, the tax subsidies, they’re going to expire. But I think this is probably a historic session, for good and bad.
On the good side of it, the minority has somehow managed to get enough signatures to force a vote using a discharge petition, not once, but twice this term. It had been forever since the minority had been able to do that. So we were able to do that on Epstein, and now we finally have the signatures for the Affordable Care Act tax subsidies.
Of course, we’re supposed to get out this week, but we just got those signatures. So now we’re trying to see if we’re going to get on the floor and vote and maybe get something done. It’s a wild time.
Then today, I started law and judiciary, and we are deposing Jack Smith. So I’ve been in opposition with that all day. And then immigration and some of the things that we’ve been hearing there too. We’re getting it done before we get out of here.
Why The Senate?: House vs. Senate power
[Zarriello] I know you’re running for Senate, and you literally just announced. What was that, last Monday, on the filing deadline? A week and a half ago. What do you see as the difference now that you’re running for something like the Senate [than House], should you be elected?
[Crockett] Yeah, obviously there’s more responsibility and also more power when it comes to the Senate. Currently, I represent 766,000 Texans. In the Senate, I would represent all 30 million Texans. In addition to that, the Senate has direct oversight over the judiciary, most specifically the Supreme Court, unlike the House. It was about four days before the filing deadline when the Supreme Court did what they did, which threw Texas Democrats into a tailspin. It really threw all Texans into a tailspin, whether you’re Democrat or Republican, because nobody knew what was going on as far as where to run.
When it comes down to confirmation and legitimate oversight, I currently serve on the House Oversight Committee, but we never have the opportunity to call in the justices and actually question them. That’s not what we do on the House side. Recently, it’s been in the news that the president has complained about some of his nominations not making it through because of blue slips. When it comes to confirmation of U.S. attorneys, U.S. marshals, and lifetime-appointed judges, that’s all on the Senate side.
If we don’t change the Senate map, I’ll be perfectly honest, if I were in a blue state, I most likely would have never run for Senate. You’re going to get a Democratic senator anyway. But this race has the potential to change the trajectory of the things we’re fighting for, whether that’s access to health care, where Texas leads the nation in uninsured people. You can go to the House and file a bunch of bills on health care, but if you don’t have the numbers in the Senate, nothing gets done.
One of the reasons we’re seeing threats like mid-decade redistricting is because the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act did not pass in the Senate. It passed the House when I was in the state House, when we fled Texas over voting rights. It passed along with the Freedom to Vote Act. Freedom to Vote would have prevented Elon Musk from being able to buy elections. These things passed the House, and that was great, but they did not go anywhere in the Senate.
So if I really want to effectuate change in this moment, the opportunity lies in flipping a Senate seat in Texas. For me, it’s not just about having good ideas for policy. It’s about putting us in a position to actually get those policies over the finish line, and that can only happen if we change the math in the Senate.
“The JC Way” is Affordability Across Texas: Health Care, Water, Tariffs, and Small Town and Business Survival
[Zarriello] I know you said at your Dallas event last week that we haven’t seen it done “the JC way.” It’s barely been a week and already people are speculating about what you’re running on and who you’re aligned with. You just explained why the Senate matters structurally, but what are you running on? I know there’s a lot to choose from we got affordability, we got Trump, we got economic uncertainty, the healthcare you just explained. But what are your top issues?
[Crockett] So for me, it’s definitely affordability. Affordability can be broken down into a lot of things. We can talk about housing, food, health care, education. But affordability, I think at the very top of it, you know, it’s just, okay, let me break it down to you like this. The state of Texas is so vast and different that speaking about one specific segment doesn’t really do it justice because our state is basically five states in one. Every different portion of our state has a different kind of personality and things that they’re looking at.
As someone who lived in East Texas, when I first got started in politics, the focus there was health care. Everyone cares about health care, but in rural Texas we’re talking about hospitals actually shutting down. When you don’t have specialists nearby, you already have to travel to Dallas or Shreveport to see a doctor. Now we’re talking about taking even more doctors away and shutting down hospitals. When that happens in a place like Texarkana, it impacts the entire economy. You’re talking about local Walmart, local restaurants, and the people who would have been contributing to that economy.
So I think that that plays a role, but it’s all kind of interconnected. If you go to other parts of Texas, such as South Texas, which I’ve talked to a lot of farmers and ranchers serving on the Ag [Agriculture] committee down in South Texas, they’ve got concerns about water. If you look at other parts of Texas, like South Texas, I’ve talked to a lot of farmers and ranchers through my service on the Agriculture Committee. They’re dealing with water shortages and what that’s doing to their crops. That was before the president engaged in these random tariff wars, which have only exacerbated their livelihood. So again, affordability looks different depending on where you are and what you do. But for those people, they were already struggling because of water issues and concerns.
We already were having issues because we had not passed a farm bill, which it is now three years behind. Input costs were already going up, so farmers and ranchers were already strained, and now it’s only been made worse. We’re seeing record bankruptcy filings among farmers and ranchers. At the same time, we’re seeing companies like Tyson shutting down plants. We’ve had chicken plants and beef plants shutting down in Texas. Part of that struggle is the president hurting us with tariffs while sending money to Argentina, allowing them to better compete against our own ranchers.
You’ve got the issues around the fact that Texas does trade to the extent that our state does more trade than most countries do trade. And so, again, the tariffs are impacting people, but now we’ve got the small businesses that are having to shutter their doors because of the imports and exports they rely on are no longer sustainable.
Appealing Beyond the Noise: From East Texas to Washington, How Crockett Connects With Small Communities
[Zarriello] Well, let me switch gears with you real quick. You’re clearly well-versed in small counties and towns across Texas. You mentioned living in one [East Texas] and not having access to a doctor [specialist]. Critics say what they want. [House Speaker] Mike Johnson says what he says. [US Senator John] Cornyn says what he says. But, how do you plan to appeal to those critics when you clearly understand their hardships and can connect with them?
[Crockett] It think that’s the case. I think that, one advantages that we have is having to start and be like a blank slate and people are like, wait a minute, what’s the name? Okay, now, what does this person do? They’re not having to figure their part out.
You know, we have those people that we know, understand who I am, how I am on the federal level, but I think that a lot of my substance can be overshadowed by the virality. So I think that we start at a place where we’re just getting to the substance.
And, you know, we absolutely plan to go through like East Texas, and remind people, that I’ve started in East Texas. Like, I know what it is. We’re gonna have those real conversations. You know, luckily, I have engaged in so many conversations with farmers and ranches across this inside state because I served on the agriculture committee that, you know, there are people that are like, yeah, a girl knows what she’s talking about, right?
So that’s really good for us. I mean, we did our first shadow hearing, or our skill hearing. It wasn’t a shadow hearing. Our first skills hearing for agriculture. We did it down and Waco, and I was like the only black person for, like, the vast majority of the day. We did like a series of things. Definitely was the only member of color, for sure. But even in the audience and people came up to me afterwards, and they were so shocked and they were like, we had no idea that he’s. Wow. And so what I’ve seen is that, I mean, you know, we’ve got photos and video of me driving tractor tailer. Like all things. Because these are things that I’ve done, but these are things that don’t go viral.
These are not the things that make it to the top. But that’s okay. Like, we’ll have time to kind of go through and let people know, like, I didn’t start this when I started campaigning. Y’all just didn’t know it.
And so that’s what we planned to do, introduce people to the substance, let them know about the things that I’ve worked on collaboratively with Republicans, that have benefited not only Texas, but my districts. We also plan to introduce them to the Jasmine Way of communication.
So we are heavy, heavy, heavy on communications where people see on the outside, you know, that we do lives and, you know, we absolutely put everything on TikTok and IG and YouTube and all that kind of stuff. But like, if you’re in my district, you get a weekly email from me of everything that I’ve done. So you get videos from committee, you get pictures of meetings I took, you get information about bills that I’ve files, you get all of that in a weekly email.
That’s not something that goes outside of the districts. We do quarterly Tele-town halls. So I was actually supposed to do it today, but because the votes are moving all over the place, because of all the drama that’s happening around healthcare, we’re going to reschedule it, but we do the tele-town hall for thousands of people sit down for an hour to learn about what all has been going on.
We also do mobile office hours. So instead of us just having an office where people have to come to us during normal hours, usually after hours, sometimes not, but we weep into every single city in my district multiple times, and we set up usually in a city building or county building. We work with whichever city we’re going to. And we sent out text messages to people saying, hey, if you need some help with this, this, this, or this, come see us. And they do.
So what we’re going to try to do is let people know that like, you deserve better, you can have better. Better access, better communication, and better transparency about everything that I’m doing. So I think the way that I’ve governed, is going to be very instructive on how I run.
–Read the full reported article from this conversation here–
Democratic Infighting vs. Cohesion: Lessons for Local Primaries
Zarriello: If you’re elected, you’d represent all Texans, about 30 million people. Though here at my publication, we represent Bexar County. We also have Democratic primaries happening right now that echo some of what you navigated when you entered this race.
How did you consult with fellow Democrats, getting their advice, seeing what the polls say and really understanding how you could enter this race and knowing that you don’t want to step on anybody’s toes, because here in Bexar County there’s a lot of Democratic infighting.
We’ve got a packed Democrat DA primary, a county judge race between incumbent Peter Sakai and former Mayor Ron Nirenberg, and district court races with beloved 436th Juvenile District Court Judge William “Cruz” Shaw.
So there’s a lot of infighting here in my county, but what I saw when you entered was a lot of cohesion, effort, and democratic coordination. So what can you say on that [considering Bexar County]?
[Crockett] Yeah, I mean, I think that we’re at an interesting time in politics in general. Right. Whether we’re talking about on the Democratic side or the Republican side, because we are in such unprecedented times, what I consistently see on our side is that people are approaching the fight differently.
And so I think that’s what you’re seeing in some of these primaries, right? I think even when you look at James and I, I mean, they’ve said it. I’m a firebrand.
But, you know, there are those that believe that if you’re a firebrand, you burn everything down. And, you know, it is important for people to know that, like, just because you’re a firebrand doesn’t mean that you don’t know how to build bridges— instead of like, burning them.
And so it is about just knowing like when is it time. And there’s certain like lines I don’t cross. It’s just like certain things I’m just not going to stand for. And honestly no one should stand for, right? Right. But at the same time, like, if I’m saying that I am doing this because I want to serve people, that means I got to be able to work as well, you know, where I can. And so I do. And that’s the part that needs to be like introduced for a lot of people for me.
Then you have other people that really are more so what I would consider to be old school about the politics. It’s like, you know, let me try to get people that aren’t affiliated with my party to come over. And at some point in time, I think that that actually was like a very real thing. I just don’t think it’s a real thing nowadays. I think that if there was ever a way to prove that, that is nothing but a mythical farce, it would be the last presidential election, because for the first time in the history of this country, people decided that they would rather vote for a 34 count convicted felon than a former prosecutor who used to lock up people like him.
“Kamala Hope” Momentum and Outside Support
[Zarriello] When you announced last week, there was a lot of support online. I’ve been seeing it on Instagram, people calling it “Kamala hope.” When Vice President Harris lost, a lot of people [mostly minority women] kind of took a step back, and now with you running, it seems like it sparked interest again and really got people back in the game.
We recently spoke with Cleopatra from WVON in Chicago and, you know, even though she’s in Chicago, you know, she’s a Delta rooting for you. So, even from outside the state, that support is there. How important is that kind of national support in a tough statewide race like this?
[Crockett] It’s one of our advantages. I’m glad you pointed that out because –– It’s one of those things that I don’t know is being highlighted enough is that in order to win in Texas, it can’t just be Texans, right?–– Like, doing the lifting. We need, on the outside to be willing to lift with us. And people are ready and willing to lift with us.
In fact, there had not been very much conversation about the Senate race at all. They have been talking about the main Senate race, a little bit about the Michigan Senate race, and now nobody wants to talk about anything but the Texas Senate race.
Republicans and Democrats, and the Republicans, you know, they are trying to do what they normally do. We see a lot of the same trends, right? Where it’s like, let us just throw this bomb out there, right? Like, they were the ones that started this, oh, “Joe Biden’s old, Joe Biden’s old, Joe Biden’s old.” And then Democrats were like, you know what? Joe Biden’s old. Joe Biden olds. And then, like, we in were like, oh, bye, Joe Biden.
And then they went and elected an old senile corrupt man, right? Like, wait a minute. We called this. We’re beefing about old people. So you know, they’re doing a similar thing now where it’s like, oh yeah, “We want Jasmine. We want Jasmine.” Look at her. She’s terrible. She’s crazy. Oh, she’s not a normal Democrat. We want Jasmine. Yeah, so y’all are going to telegraph that before the primary?
Like, so that’s like, let us sort out the where democrats can be in disarray and be like we can’t vote for her because that’s who they [Republicans] want. And it’s like, yeah, okay, because that makes sense to like tell people who you want before you get them. So that then they end up with like my opponent? Who they don’t want?
Why Crockett Believes the Texas Senate Race Is Winnable
[Zarriello] Well, my last and final question– so you can be on your way, I know you’re busy. If you could leave Texas voters with one reason to believe that this race is different and winnable, what would it be?
[Crockett] Couple of things. Number one, this the first time since the 1990s that every state House, state Senate, and US House race has someone that is running. Typically, we have approximately 50% of our races that go unfielded. When you look at the last time we had a Trump midterm election, that was when Beto ran and Beto lost by a little less than three points. That’s on the margins.
The difference can be made in the fact that now, instead of one person need to go around the entire state, trying to get all the votes out by themselves, you’ve got people that are consistently in their communities, and they are spreading the Democratic talking points. So that’s number one.
Number two, what we’ve seen since he’s been elected this time, is that no race has swung any less than 10 points to the Democratic side. Whether we’re talking about, in deep red country or in blue areas. So whether we’re talking about Tennessee, Mississippi, Georgia, or even if we go to Florida in Miami where they were able to flip, that Mayoral [election], and they didn’t just flip it. They flipped it by almost a double-digit margin. Like, she [Eileen Higgins] was like, I don’t know, 10 points ahead of the Republican. They did not flip that seat in 30 years.
So, it is real that the environment is really bad for Republicans– and this is the first time that I can think of, that the Republicans are looking at going for a runoff.
They are absolutely going for a runoff. And with them going for a runoff, that also presents an additional opportunity for us because that means that they are going to beat up on each other even longer and then have to pivot and pull themselves together in a shorter amount of time. Whereas our race should end–– I can only cross my fingers.
There are three people running, but I’d imagine that somebody is going to get 50%. So, we should be done in 76 days.
[Zarriello] Wow. Wow.
[Crockett] Not that I’m counting.
[Zarriello] Well, Congresswoman, thank you so much for your time. We are small, black newspaper here in South Texas. We’ve been here since ’95. So again, thank you for finding us and reaching out. And, you know, there is full support on the races from here to Chicago.
-end-
