Black Democratic strategists, lawmakers and activists are frustrated that Texas Democrats rejected Jasmine Crockett as their Senate nominee Tuesday night — but they also saw it coming.

Following Crockett’s single-digit loss, they recounted a laundry list of why she fell to state Rep. James Talarico: Her campaign was unfocused; she had an insufficient campaign infrastructure to challenge Talarico, even though she earned the backing of former Vice President Kamala Harris. They also said her media strategy relied too heavily on social media rather than television ad buys — typically seen as critical in a sprawling state like Texas and its nearly two dozen media markets.

“People who don’t understand politics will be upset because Jasmine was their hero,” said Texas state Rep. Jolanda Jones, a Democrat. “But for people who understand politics, [Crockett] literally had no ground game.”

She added: “This L is on her.”

Taken together, Crockett’s campaign shortcomings doomed the upstart Senate bid of the two-term congressmember who entered the contest with broad name recognition and hopes of showcasing her firebrand personality and penchant for viral moments to help Texas Democrats end their nearly 40-year winless streak in Senate races.

Still, Black strategists and activists warn Crockett’s loss will have ripple effects.

They say the party rejected an established star in favor of an untested, white state lawmaker over style — the two candidates did not substantively disagree on policy — raising concerns that Black voters, especially women, will not turn out when the party needs them the most.

“A lot of Black women who work in the Democratic Party, vote for Democrats, organize for Democrats, have always had a sense of this,” said Houston-based political strategist and social media influencer Tayhlor Coleman. “It is a lot more apparent now: A lot of people in the Democratic Party want our labor, they do not want our leadership.”

A spokesperson for Crockett’s campaign pushed back on the criticism of her campaign, saying it came from “Monday morning quarterbacks.”

“This was the most expensive Democratic primary ever in Texas with the overwhelming majority of those dollars being spent on attacks against the Congresswoman,” former deputy campaign manager Karrol Rimal said in a text message Wednesday afternoon. “Despite being outspent, she held our own and excited an untapped base of support for Democrats with record numbers of first time primary voters. There was also the intentional voter suppression of voters in Dallas and Williamson counties. That can not be ignored.”

After Crockett conceded, she tweeted her support for Talarico, saying, “Democrats must rally around our nominees and win.”

Democrats for years have praised Black women as the “backbone of the party.” And Crockett, a former civil rights and criminal defense lawyer, rose to prominence in part by viral moments from House hearings. Just last month, she garnered praise from party insiders for her sharp criticism of Attorney General Pam Bondi during a House Judiciary hearing over the Justice Department’s handling of Jeffrey Epstein documents.

Heading into Tuesday’s primary election — the first of the 2026 midterm cycle — there was optimism Crockett could harness her star power to beat Talarico, a seminary student and former teacher who drew national attention when Texas Democrats fled the state to try to block a major redistricting effort.

Talarico also built his national name with a sitdown on the nation’s top podcast, “The Joe Rogan Experience” where the show’s host urged him to run for president — weeks before he officially launched his Senate bid, and later turned an online interview with the late night host Stephen Colbert into a fundraising boon.

Throughout the primary, Crockett faced constant questions about her viability and campaign decisions, including whether she hired enough staff. She also faced criticism that the get-out-the-vote efforts were virtually nonexistent.

“She ran a fucking terrible campaign that many will question if she’s running a campaign at all,” said one Black national Democratic operative granted anonymity to give a candid assessment of Crockett’s campaign.

Crockett staked much of her political campaign on her ability to connect with young voters and rebuked her party for trying to win Republicans instead of wooing hard-to-reach Democrats that have grown frustrated with the party. By contrast, Talarico was praised by many Democrats for the way he leaned into his seminarian background as a way to appeal to progressives, independents and disillusioned Republicans.

“In many ways, she has been and has felt like a woman on an island,” said Stefanie Brown James, co-founder of the Collective PAC, which works to elect Black candidates to local, state and federal offices.

“Even though she has substance, not everybody likes her style,” she added. “And I think that sometimes her style is one that is not appealing, especially to the old guard Democrats, whose fighting style is antiquated and outdated.”

State and national Democrats acknowledged Talarico built a strong campaign that shored up grassroots support and built a statewide infrastructure long before Crockett entered the primary in December, just months before voters began casting their ballots. He was able to raise money quickly, establish a field and digital plan and craft a message that cast him as a fighter and someone who would bring down high costs.

Some Democrats anticipate Talarico’s victory is going to ignite a fresh round of uncomfortable conversations among insiders about the importance race, gender and identity politics will play in Democratic political circles moving forward.

“The way that we have seen people rally around new, more untested white male candidates” is troubling, said Maya Rupert, a Democratic strategist who served as the campaign manager of Julian Castro’s 2020 presidential campaign.

While she is excited about Talarico’s nomination against what she called “a very weak Republican field,” Rupert said Crockett’s loss will continue to “sting” for months to come, especially with few opportunities beyond Texas for Black women candidates to win in statewide contests.

“There are a lot of people who see this and see a very qualified, very popular Black woman — that, once again — feels like people fail to appreciate the strength of,” Rupert adds. “And that is a very dangerous position for the party to be in.”

President Donald Trump is signaling he will soon endorse someone in the Texas primary. Key Republican players are scrambling to make the case for incumbent John Cornyn — and hoping Trump acts fast.

“I hope it’s going to be soon,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters Wednesday, just hours after making his latest plea on Cornyn’s behalf to the president.

At stake is $100 million or more in Republican donor money that many in D.C. party circles believe could be burned in the 12-week runoff showdown with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who finished closely behind Cornyn in Tuesday’s GOP primary.

Beyond the money that stands to be incinerated, party operatives fear the scorched-earth campaign will give a further leg up to Democratic candidate James Talarico, the state lawmaker who won his party’s primary outright Tuesday.

In a lengthy Truth Social post Wednesday, Trump spelled out that he was mindful of a costly internecine fight.

“I will be making my Endorsement soon,” he wrote, as he called on the candidate he doesn’t endorse to “DROP OUT OF THE RACE,” stressing that Republicans must “TOTALLY FOCUS” on beating the “Radical Left Opponent.”

Cornyn’s Senate colleagues delivered a succession of public and private entreaties to the president throughout the day Wednesday.

Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) said in an exclusive interview for Blue Light News’s “The Conversation” that Cornyn was “without a doubt the candidate to win in November.” The episode is set for publication Friday.

“There’s nothing more powerful than President Trump’s endorsement,” Britt added, speaking before she traveled to the White House for a roundtable event with Trump.

Multiple Republicans delivered a similar message directly to Trump, according to three people granted anonymity to describe the private conversations — sharing their concerns that a Senate seat that has been in GOP hands since 1961 could be at risk of flipping in November if the scandal-dogged Paxton is the top of the ticket.

Senate Republicans were told during their closed-door lunch Wednesday that Trump will soon endorse in the race, two attendees said, but not whom the president will back.

But there was a palpable sense of hope among some of Cornyn’s allies Wednesday, who believe that things are aligning in the incumbent’s favor as he appears on track to win a plurality in Tuesday’s voting.

As of Wednesday evening Cornyn led Paxton by about 25,000 votes with more than 95 percent of ballots counted, according to the Associated Press. That represented an overperformance, some Cornyn allies argued, given that several pre-election polls had him soundly trailing Paxton.

A Cornyn campaign aide said there is “new momentum” and “new support coming” after Tuesday’s results.

“The case got stronger because of last night — that’s undeniable,” the aide said about Trump endorsing Cornyn. “There certainly are lots of conversations happening, lots of people who are seeing the bigger picture.”

Arriving in the Senate Wednesday evening, Cornyn declined to answer questions about the possibility of an endorsement — or anything else — as his colleagues warmly welcomed him back to Washington.

“Big John,” said No. 2 Senate GOP leader John Barrasso of Wyoming, greeting Cornyn as he rushed into the Capitol after a flight from Texas.

Several former Trump campaign aides are now associated with Cornyn’s campaign and are thought to be lobbying on his behalf. But Trump has long been personally fond of Paxton, a MAGA firebrand who eagerly joined his effort to overturn the 2020 presidential contest that elected Joe Biden.

A Republican close to the Paxton campaign, granted anonymity to speak candidly before Trump sent his Truth Social message, said Trump “knows that the base despises Cornyn” and would not risk alienating them by endorsing the sitting senator.

“He knows Cornyn is a squish and RINO,” he said. “But he’s got to make a pragmatic decision. It just kind of depends on what folks are telling him.”

Hopes for a quick endorsement for Cornyn could be on hold as the final votes are counted and his lead over Paxton is confirmed.

“Any president would prefer to be positioned with the winning campaign,” said one GOP donor, granted anonymity to speak candidly about the endorsement dynamics.

The White House did not respond to requests for comment on when the president will endorse and which candidate.

Talarico clinching the nomination while two well-financed Republicans beat each other up is exactly the scenario Washington Republicans were hoping to avoid ahead of Tuesday’s election. Internal polling released earlier this month by the Senate GOP’s campaign arm showed Paxton would lose the general election to Talarico by 3 points while Cornyn could beat him by 3 points.

The Republican close to the Paxton campaign said the attorney general is well positioned to win a runoff given that the primary electorate tends to be more conservative — and that Talarico is more beatable than Washington Republicans believe, given his past comments on transgender rights and his liberal view of the Bible. The person said Paxton’s data modeling showed a Cornyn plurality “was a possibility.”

“I guess it’s fair to say he was a little bit stronger than expected, but again it wasn’t too far up from our data,” the person said.

Still, the strong showing gave Cornyn’s colleagues a prime opportunity to argue that it was time to bring the rivalry to an end.

“John Cornyn is the best bet to win the November election,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a close Trump ally known to have the president’s ear.

Barrasso added that he, too, would encourage Trump to back his Texas colleague, adding that it’s “critically important for John Cornyn to be the nominee.”

“We need to hold that seat which means we need to nominate someone who is going to win in November,” Barrasso added. “The person that will win in November is John Cornyn.”

Dasha Burns and Adam Wren contributed to this report.