By Franklin Vinnerlid & Ava Pendrey
United States House Representative Jasmine Crockett and Texas House Representative James Talarico took to the debate stage on Saturday, Jan. 24th at the Sheraton Hotel in Georgetown, Texas for the first Senate debate of the 2026 election cycle. The debate was part of an ongoing process to select the Democratic candidate for the upcoming Senate election in Texas. The debate was hosted by the Texas AFL-CIO, one of the largest and most influential labor unions in the state.
Both candidates entered the debate looking to woo voters in what has become a contentious primary cycle. Democrats see 2026 as one of the best chances they have to pick up a senate seat that has been held by current Republican Senator John Cornyn since 2002. Cornyn is seeking re-election in 2026, yet he is challenged in the Republican primary by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and US House Representative Wesley Hunt, both staunch allies of President Trump. Democrats are hoping this internal fighting within the Republican Party will benefit them in the general election later this year, which occurs amongst a backlash against many of the actions and policies of the Trump administration.
The debate began with opening statements, in which both candidates laid out their visions and motivations for their candidacies. Crockett kicked off the debate by reiterating her central campaign position: that she is a fighter who will push back against the Trump administration and policies she believes have hurt Texans.
“…we are living in a time where systems are clearly rigged against us, and I am here to tell you that while the system has been fighting me, I have been fighting them back,” Crockett said.
Talarico, meanwhile, has spent his campaign crafting a message of anti-corruption and political reform centered around fighting billionaires and taking money out of politics. Talarico recounted his time in the West-Side of San Antonio working as a school teacher and the motivation that experience gave him to enter public service.
“On the West-Side, I learned that the real fight in this country is not left vs. right, it’s top vs. bottom. Billionaires want us looking left and right at each other and not at them,” Talarico said.
Talarico has relied on the message he has crafted that billionaires and corporations are taking advantage of Texans, and that the way to ensure the economic safety of the average person is by fighting the power these billionaires exercise through politics.
“Billionaires aren’t just buying yachts and jets, they’re buying power,” Talarico said. “…Unity [among Texans] is a threat to the billionaires…”
Talarico continued, “…if we’re gonna lower the cost of healthcare we have to put caps on more life-saving drugs…to reduce the cost of childcare we gotta finally provide universal early childhood education for every single child in this country…to lower the cost of housing, we should ban Wall Street from gobbling up our housing stock in this country.”
For Crockett, rolling back the tariffs that President Trump has put in place is the best way to ensure economic stability for the American people. She agreed with Talarico on increasing tax rates on billionaires and argued for a return to past tax rates from the 1990s.
“I think that we need to just go ahead and do what we know works, we need to go back to the tax rates that were in place when [President] Clinton was in office, and we were able to balance our budget while also being able to have people that have access to food, access to education, and access to healthcare,” Crockett said.
Throughout the debate Crockett cited her congressional record and bills she has proposed as proof that she has a proven track record fighting for Texans. Crockett spoke of her support for a bill in congress establishing Medicare for all, and the work she has done on the Congressional Oversight Committee monitoring the Trump Administration and its firing of various federal workers.
“We are going to have to exercise oversight over these agencies [Federal agencies run by the Trump administration] as well as make sure that we empower our unions…” Crockett Said.
Both candidates were asked pointed questions regarding the fatal shooting of Renee Good in Minneapolis by Ice Agents on Jan. 7, 2026. The candidates condemned the actions of ICE in the confrontation with Good, yet they differed on the future for the federal agency.
“…at the end of the day I think we need to clean house from top to bottom,” Crockett said. “I ended up signing on to [the] impeachment of Kristi Noem [Head of the Department of Homeland Security which oversees ICE]…”
When asked if she would support abolishing or defunding ICE, Crockett stated that more oversight needed to be exercised over the agency. Talarico, meanwhile, was more forceful in his critique of the entire system that ICE operates within.
“It’s time to tear down this secret police force and replace it with an agency that actually is going to focus on public safety,” Talarico said. “We need to impeach Kristi Noem, we need to prosecute agents who’ve abused their power, we need to haul these masked men before Congress so the world can see their faces.”
After having discussed thoroughly these issues and more, the candidates had one last chance to lay out their vision for Texas and convince Democrats to vote for them in March. Talarico began with his closing statement.
“I got into this because of my students,” Talarico said. “I had 45 kids in one classroom; we didn’t have enough desks for those kids so I had students sitting on the air conditioning units. It’s unacceptable. It’s why I ran for the state Legislature, It’s why I flipped a Trump district that no one thought was winnable by bringing people together to change this broken system, and that’s exactly what we can do in this race in November. We have a moral imperative to win.”
“As someone who has seen up close and personal how badly things are working in D.C., I have been fighting on the front lines against this corrupt administration,” Crockett said. “I am willing to take the chances that frankly most are not willing to take…whoever goes to the United States Senate is going to have to be ready for real war.”
While the candidates differed on the ways in which they might serve in the US Senate, they were in agreement that Texas is a vital state for Democrats to win, and both candidates are eager to potentially face off against the Republican candidate in November 2026.
Voting in the Senate Primaries occurs on March 3, 2026, with Early voting opening on Feb. 17.