“We are not going to have election results tonight in Dallas County,” Democratic Senate candidate Jasmine Crockett told supporters late Tuesday just after primary polls closed in Texas “Unfortunately, this is what Republicans like to do,” the savvy Texas Congresswoman added of the legal confusion that had enveloped the contest on a night of elections in the Lone Star state, North Carolina and Arkansas.
“People have been disenfranchised!”
In one of the most watched Senate races of the primaries and the November midterms, Crockett’s remarks came just as a slew of votes from her stronghold of Dallas County came in and significantly cut the state lead of rival James Talarico. About 72% of Texas primary voting among Democrats have come in so far with Talarico holding a slim 5% lead over Crockett.
Both Joe Rogan guest and Texas House of Representative member Talarico and Rep. Crockett have argued that they can galvanize voters, win in the home of LBJ, and help Dems take back control of Congress.
Still, under this year’s convoluted and partisan primary process, and the fallout from the latest round of gerrymandering, many Texas Democratic voters in the mega-County could not vote at the state polling stations and precincts they showed up at. To make sure every vote was cast and counted, a state judge ordered polling stations in the mega-jurisdiction be kept open until 9 pm local time — giving citizens a couple of extra hours to vote.
A ruling for the sprawling country that Crockett took to social media today to make sure supporters knew about.
IF YOU’RE IN LINE — STAY IN LINE!!! You get to vote!!
— Jasmine Crockett (@JasmineForUS) March 4, 2026
In a distinctly Made-in-Texas move that quickly took over CNN and MS Now’s coverage of the election, the Democrats’ primary was then thrown further into chaos in the second largest county in the state by Ken Paxton.
The GOP Senate candidate and MAGA fave put on his state Attorney General 10-galloon hat and asked the Lone Star Supreme Court to stop the extension of voting hours in Dallas County – which they promptly did. Possibly setting the stage for a voter suppression case, the Texas Supreme Court ruled late Tuesday that votes “cast by voters who were not in line to vote at 7 p.m. should be separated.”
How those partitioned votes will be counted, and if they will, remains unclear.
Besides a likely foreshadowing of how Donald Trump and Republicans aim to muddy the election waters in November, what is very clear is that the telegenic Crockett and Talarico, who did not address his supporters tonight, have a lot of deep pocket backing in the home of Hollywood.
Among entertainment industry donors, the Crockett vs. Talarico race was the most closely watched of all primaries on Tuesday. Both seen as rising stars in the Red State and the Democratic Party, Talarico and Crockett each sought industry support over the past several months.
A commanding presence on social media since being elected to Congress in 2023, Crockett spoke to The Working Group, the monthly Zoom calls featuring an audience of writers and producers. Such figures as Bruce Cohen and Judd Apatow donated to her campaign. Talarico last month held a Los Angeles fundraiser hosted by James Costos and Michael Smith. Former HBO exec and Obama-era Ambassador to Spain Costos has long been known to remain personally and politically close to the former POTUS.
The LA event at Costos and Smith’s home was held just days after Talarico sat down for an interview with Stephen Colbert that was to be broadcast on CBS’ The Late Show. But Colbert said that CBS lawyers told him that he could not have Talarico on the broadcast, due to an FCC crackdown on the Equal Time Rule that requires that broadcasters provide comparable time to rivals when featuring a candidate on their airwaves.
The publicity surrounding the incident helped drive contributions to Talarico’s campaign
He raised $2.5 million after the interview was shifted from broadcast to YouTube. Proving a boon to Talarico’s stature, the semi-banned Colbert interview got more than 9 million views on the platform, far more than what it would have received on The Late Show.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr criticized the media that covered the incident, calling it a “hoax” as Talarico claimed that it was the agency that was banning him from the airwaves. In fact, it was up to CBS to decide whether they wanted their affiliates to be on the hook for providing time to Talarico’s competitors. Crockett had previously appeared on The Late Show, but they had another rival in the primary, Ahmad Hassan – – who proved not much of a factor tonight.
Among Texas Republicans, their Senate race is heading to a May 26 runoff with four-term incumbent John Cornyn up against MAGA loyalist Ken Paxton.
Heading into the highly charged midterms in November, Latin Grammy winning singer Bobby Pulido aced his Texas primary. Blessed by massive name recognition, the middle of the road Puildon will take on incumbent GOP Rep. Monica De La Cruz later this year.
Bobby Pulido at the 26th Annual Latin Grammy Awards on Nov. 13, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo:Getty)