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As intrigue grows over whether Texas Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett plans to announce a U.S. Senate campaign next week, she confirms she’s spoken with would-be opponents about the race.
Crockett said earlier this week she will make a “special announcement” in Dallas at 4:30 p.m. Monday, 90 minutes before the state’s deadline for candidates to file their campaign paperwork.
“I cannot confirm what I will be announcing,” Crockett, who represents most of Dallas in Congress, told CBS News on Thursday.
But she acknowledged calling some of the current candidates in the race last Sunday to discuss polling that she had received and to answer any questions they might have.
Crockett, 44, has amassed a national following and fundraising base after less than four years in Congress, fueled especially by her frequent appearances on national cable news programs and active social media accounts that highlight confrontations with Republicans in committee hearings.
She has declined to rule out a campaign for Senate next year, and told CBS News Texas last month she would only run if polling she commissioned showed she could win a general election by expanding the electorate and attracting new voters.
Former Dallas Democratic Rep. Colin Allred and Democratic state Rep. James Talarico, of Austin, are already campaigning to take on whoever emerges from an equally high-stakes GOP primary involving Sen. John Cornyn, a four-term incumbent who’s being challenged by Republican Rep. Wesley Hunt and Attorney General Ken Paxton.
A poll conducted between late September and Oct. 1 by the University of Houston and Texas Southern University showed Crockett leading a hypothetical Democratic primary with 31%. Talarico and former Democratic Rep. Beto O’Rourke, who is not running, were tied for second place with 25% each. Allred had 13%, and 6% were unsure.
But the same poll showed Republicans Cornyn, Hunt and Paxton defeating Crockett. The other Democratic candidates also trailed the GOP contenders in general election polling.
A campaign spokesman said Talarico called Crockett over the weekend but that no polling data was shared.
Allred didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment late Thursday.
Another Texas Democratic lawmaker monitoring the race told CBS News Crockett has been reaching out to other contenders to show them internal polling that gives her an early edge.
“It’s tough for those guys, if she runs, she is popular with the Democratic base,” said the lawmaker, who was granted anonymity to speak frankly about ongoing intra-party deliberations. “From polling I’ve seen, she will be in the driver’s seat if she runs. … A couple of months ago, I didn’t believe it, but now I would say there is a better than average chance that she runs.”
Another Texas Democratic operative closely tracking the emerging Senate contest echoed the results of the recent polling —- that while Crockett might prevail in a Democratic primary, she would struggle to build enough statewide support to defeat whoever prevails in the Republican primary.
“If she does this, I blame Beltway people and Beltway consultants for talking her into this because there’s no way” she can win statewide, said the operative.
