Samuel O’Neal
soneal@star-telegram.com
Tarrant County Democrats say they are optimistic about the party’s chances to flip the U.S. Senate seat in November as they wait to see whether it will be State Rep. James Talarico or U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett who wins the nationally watched Democratic primary race.
In the Stagecoach Ballroom in Fort Worth on Tuesday night, Tarrant County Democrats gathered for a primary watch party, with most of the room pulling for Crockett, but almost all willing to throw their support behind Talarico if he wins the nomination.
Early voting results posted at 7 p.m. showed Talarico held a slim lead over Crockett, securing 53.7% of the early vote to Crockett’s 45.1%. As of 8:25 p.m., there were 1.1 million votes counted across the state.
In Tarrant County, more voters selected Crockett in early voting. She holds a narrow county lead of 55.9%.
Most attendees at the watch party said they backed U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett in the Democratic primary race for a U.S. Senate seat. Samuel O’Neal soneal@star-telegram.com
John Schleeter, of North Richland Hills, was one of just a few attendees who is pulling for Talarico to win the nomination. He said Talarico is the candidate who can give the Democrats the best chance to flip the Senate seat in November’s general election.
“I feel like he is somebody that has finally come out and can speak on the issues, and speak on them in such a way, he’s basically speaking Texas and speaking Republican,” Schleeter said. “That is a big deal. For any statewide race, we are going to have to peel away a lot of voters on the other side.”
But Schleeter also said he would support Crockett in the event she is the party’s nominee. He believes this could be the year Democrats take a Senate seat in Texas, and pointed to Democrat Taylor Rehmet’s recent win in a special election in usually-red Senate District 9 in Tarrant County as a reason why.
Stacy Holder, who also showed up to the Stagecoach Ballroom to show support for Democrats across the ballot, is pulling for Crockett. She is tired of playing nice and thinks Crockett has “just the right amount of sass” that is needed to flip the Senate seat and oppose Republicans.
But like Schleeter, Holder will fully support Talarico if he secures the nomination, she said.
“I am one of those angry Democrats,” Holder said. I want to fight. I want them to fight too, until the bitter end. To me, Crockett is the one. She has just the right amount of fight.”
Commissioner and candidate for County Judge Alisa Simmons arrived at the watch party Tuesday night. Her campaign signs were handed out to attendees. Samuel O’Neal sonel@star-telegram.com
Schleeter and Holder were just two of dozens of Tarrant County Democrats at the watch party who believe the time is now for Texas to become a bit more blue. Just about everyone agreed that regardless of the winner, supporters of both candidates should throw their support behind the winning candidate.
Schleeter, who pushed back on the notion that Texas is a “red state” said people who aren’t from Texas don’t understand how many Democrats there are across the state.
“We are not a red state,” Schleeter said. “We are a non-voting state. We have an awful lot of people that just do not show up to every election. Some people aren’t even registered in their districts, and in important districts.”
Michelle Winder, a Democratic candidate running unopposed for State House District 99, said she has known Crockett since before she was elected to U.S. Congress. She believes now is the moment for her to win the primary and turn a Texas Senate seat blue. Amy Stewart, a Tarrant County election volunteer and poll worker shared a similar sentiment. She is pulling for Crockett but believes in whoever wins the primary.
“No matter who wins, it’s about the Democratic Party and who’s the best for the state,” Stewart said. “Whoever wins, wins. We’ll be good either way.”
Stewart feels especially confident about 2026 because of Rehmet’s special election win and the number of voters that turned out to early voting.
“I am way more confident this year because this has been the most expensive race, state-wide,” Stewart said. “We pulled out more voters than ever. Not just in early voting but today as well. And we should be good to go into Nov. 5.”
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Samuel O’Neal is a local news reporter at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram covering higher education and local news in Fort Worth. He joined the team in December 2025 after previously working as a staff writer at the Philadelphia Inquirer. He graduated from Temple University, where he served as the Editor-in-Chief of the school’s student paper, The Temple News.