Veteran Democratic strategist James Carville discussed Democratic Texas Representative Jasmine Crockett’s Senate campaign during Thursday’s episode of his podcast, noting that she often violates a fundamental rule of politics, Fox News reports. On the Politics War Room podcast, co-host Al Hunt described Crockett’s entry into the Senate race as encouraging news for Democrats. He suggested that state Rep. James Talarico would be the party’s strongest contender, adding, “If he ends up facing Ken Paxton, I like his chances.” Carville also remarked that he feels more hopeful about Texas politics than he has in quite some time.
“[T]o me, she violates the first rule of politics, and that is, in politics, you always make it about the voters and never about yourself,” Carville said, adding, “You listen to her talk. It’s a lot more about herself than it is the voters.”
Carville cautioned that Crockett represents a heavily Democratic district, with a 24-point advantage, and suggested her energy would be better spent mobilizing voters in more competitive, Republican-leaning areas.
He noted that while Crockett could maintain her seat indefinitely and attract significant media attention by being outspoken—earning clicks, TV spots, and online buzz—such visibility doesn’t necessarily translate to meaningful contributions for her party.
Carville pointed to Tennessee’s 7th district as an example of Democrats hurting their own chances, saying the selection of Aftyn Behn was ill-advised in a race where Republicans were unexpectedly vulnerable. He quipped that it was almost as if Democrats had engineered the worst possible candidate for that district.
Carville concluded, “what wins elections is not sitting there talking incessantly about yourself. Winning elections is not how many clicks you get or how much overnight fundraising you do. Winning elections is being part of framing issues and understanding where people are coming from, and I don’t think Congressman Crockett is very good at that.”