Texas polls begin to close as Democratic rivals battle in Senate primary

As polls began to close across Texas on Tuesday evening, Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett and state representative James Talarico were locked in a fiercely contested and unpredictable primary that has drawn record-level turnout and outsized national attention.The marquee Senate race, unfolding in a state Democrats have not carried statewide in more than three decades, has become an early test of competing political playbooks for challenging Republican dominance – and Donald Trump. In the final weeks, the race has raised fraught questions about race, identity and electability for a party searching for a path back to power in Washington.Crockett, the 44-year-old former public defender who has built a reputation as a rhetorical brawler, is vowing to energize the party’s base – turning out young people and voters of color furious with the president and desperate for their leaders to take a more confrontational approach. Talarico, a former middle school teacher and current seminary student, is pitching a “top v bottom” economic message that he says can cut across political divides.The stakes are unusually high because a messy Republican primary that could see the state’s scandal-scarred attorney general, Ken Paxton, emerge as the nominee, giving Democrats a rare opening to seriously contest the seat.Results were expected to be delayed after a judge ordered polling stations in Dallas County – the state’s second most populous – to remain open until 9pm local time. County judge Clay Jenkins said voters faced “mass confusion” over a change to election day voting rules.Speaking to reporters on Tuesday evening, Crockett said she was “grateful” for the court intervention and encouraged voters to “remain resilient”.Polling has diverged widely in the final weeks. Although Crockett enjoyed a comfortable early lead, boosted by her high name recognition, more recent polls have found a much closer race.Talarico has performed well among self-described liberals, while Crockett has run stronger with moderates and some conservative Democrats – contrary to the impression by some in the party that she is the more progressive candidate in the race.Crockett, who was recently endorsed by Kamala Harris, has consolidated overwhelming support among Black Democrats, while Talarico has consistently led among white liberals. Observers say Latino voters, expected to make up between a quarter and a third of the electorate, will likely determine the outcome of the election.Texas Democrats have hailed both candidates as rising stars who can help lift the entire slate of candidates down-ballot. Beto O’Rourke, a Democrat who narrowly lost to Texas senator Ted Cruz in 2018, has not endorsed either candidate but called them “generational talents”.“Just look,” Montserrat Garibay, a Democratic candidate running for the state legislature, said, gesturing to the long line of students waiting to vote on campus at the University of Texas in Austin on Tuesday afternoon.“When you have quality candidates, you bring people out, and that’s exactly what they’re doing. Whatever the outcome is, they’re both great, and they will do great things for our state.”Anusha Adusumilli, a 19-year-old public health student, said she planned to vote for Talarico because she believed he was a “bit more progressive” and liked his pledge not to accept corporate Pac money.“I hear a lot of people saying that they think Texas is going to turn blue this year,” she said. “I’m not completely sure about that considering our history but I think there’s a better chance than in previous years so I’m really excited.”Julia Berliner, a 27-year-old PhD student in ecology, wrestled with what she described as the critical question of “what works in Texas”.“I don’t want to betray any chance of flipping Texas,” she said, still undecided as she stood in line to vote. She ultimately went with her heart, and voted for Crockett – “the candidate I’m excited about [and] would be proud to have represent me”.Texas voters, like voters across the country, have soured on Trump over his handling of the economy and immigration.“Things have gotten bad,” said Raquel Rivas, 53, a custodian who took on a second full-time job to support her undocumented husband, who no longer feels safe working the jobs he used to. She is also helping to support her four adult children struggling to afford groceries and pay their electricity bills.“We’re suffering,” she said.On Tuesday, she voted for Crockett: “She speaks up”.The Democratic enthusiasm comes as Republicans wage an increasingly nasty – and expensive – primary battle that pits Paxton against four-term Senate incumbent John Cornyn in a multi-way race that is likely to pushed into a runoff.Democrats and Republicans in Washington have argued that if Paxton emerges as the nominee, his string of legal and ethical troubles would hand Democrats an opportunity in a state the president carried by a thumping 14-percentage points in 2024.