Hours after former NFL star Colin Allred quit the Texas Senate race Monday, rabble-rousing Rep. Jasmine Crockett jumped in — the latest sign that Democrats are facing a Tea Party-style revolt by progressives.
Why it matters: Senate Democratic leaders this year have tried to tip the scales in favor of their favorite 2026 candidates in several states — but they've lost some power as much of the party's base has turned on them in President Trump's second term.
- Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee "probably could have tried to keep Crockett out" if they "were strong," a national Democratic strategist told Axios.
- "But they're not. They're the weakest they've ever been."
Zoom in: Monday's filing deadline left Texas with one of the hottest Senate races of 2026 — and primaries on both sides that party leaders have struggled to shape.
- Allred's departure leaves progressive social media stars Crockett and state Rep. James Talarico in the Democratic primary. Longtime Sen. John Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton are the leading contenders on the GOP side. Republican Rep. Wesley Hunt is also running.
- The Republican standoff between two Texas political icons was long expected. But the Crockett-Talarico contest will pit a new generation of contenders who reflect the growing liberal activism in the red state's restless Democratic Party.
- A recent poll by the University of Houston and Texas Southern University indicated Crockett would lead the Democratic primary field with 31% support. Talarico was backed by 25%; Allred 13%.
Driving the news: Crockett, 44, has built a huge online following and fundraising base on the left through her high-profile feuds with Trump. But many top Democrats doubt she could win a general election in conservative Texas.
- Crockett, who represents a deep-blue district in Dallas, has made several controversial comments that top Democrats fear would turn off swing voters, such as calling wheelchair-bound Texas Gov. Greg Abbott "Hot Wheels" and suggesting that some on the right are "inherently" violent.
- Mainstream Democratic officials, including those in Schumer's orbit, have been impressed with Talarico, sources told Axios. Talarico, 36, an aspiring minister who quotes the Bible in his criticisms of Trump and the far right, has appeared on Joe Rogan's popular podcast.
Many traditional Democrats were backing Allred, a former U.S. House member, before he dropped out and chose to seek a House seat again. He said Monday that "a bruising Senate Democratic primary and runoff would prevent the Democratic Party from going into this critical election unified."
- In her kickoff speech Monday, Crockett shot back at her critics: "I just want to be clear for all the haters in the back. Listen up real loud. We gonna get this thing done."
Zoom out: In Ohio and North Carolina, Schumer helped clear the 2026 Democratic primary fields for former Sen. Sherrod Brown and former Gov. Roy Cooper.
But in several other states, Democratic leaders have failed to head off contested primaries — and party-approved candidates are struggling to stake out leads.
- It's all unfolding amid an intraparty rebellion that's drawn some comparisons to how the conservative Tea Party movement reshaped the GOP nearly two decades ago.
- In Maine, polls show oyster farmer Graham Platner, a progressive Democrat, as still competitive against Schumer-endorsed Maine Gov. Janet Mills — even after reports Platner made controversial comments online and had a Nazi-linked tattoo (which he's covered up).
- In the Michigan Senate primary, mainstream Democrats have complained that Rep. Haley Stevens, the favorite of party officials, has run a lackluster campaign against liberal state Sen. Mallory McMorrow and Bernie-Sanders backed Abdul El-Sayed, a doctor.
- In Iowa, the establishment favorite, Josh Turek, faces a large primary field.
What they're saying: "Leader Schumer does not have a preference of candidate and always intended to stay out of the primary. Nothing changes that," Schumer spokesperson Allison Biasotti told Axios in a statement about the Texas race.
- Democratic leaders in D.C. "are really failing to understand their electorate and build campaigns ... that meet the anger that you're seeing out there, that meet the need for change and the desire for results from the voters," Tommy McDonald, a progressive strategist for some of the anti-establishment Senate candidates, told Axios.
- "We're seeing a moment where the voters are very, very angry about a decade of being denied choices, and are demanding choices."
The latest: Some Democratic senators are openly questioning their party's leadership and working against Schumer in primaries.
- Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) have spoken to, or plan to speak to, candidates challenging the party establishment's picks, sources familiar with the discussions told Axios.
