Built by Texas Trailblazers: Why Jasmine Crockett’s Senate Run Carries a Legacy Forward

U. S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas)
U. S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas)

Built by Texas Trailblazers: Why Jasmine Crockett’s Senate Run Carries a Legacy Forward

The leadership of Barbara Jordan, Eddie Bernice Johnson, and Sheila Jackson Lee shaped a tradition now poised to reach the U.S. Senate


By Glynda C. Carr


With less than a week to go before the Democratic primary, all eyes are on Texas. Voters have a real chance to make history.

The Texas Senate race is capturing national attention, and momentum is shifting. Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett is now leading in multiple public polls as she seeks the Democratic nomination. A new University of Texas Politics Project poll shows her with a double-digit advantage, 56 percent to 44 percent, over her opponent James Talarico. Earlier polling from the University of Houston showed her leading by eight points. In January, the race was neck and neck. The numbers show movement.

But this final week will determine whether that momentum carries across the finish line.

The stakes are evident in how Republicans are responding. Governor Greg Abbott has spent more than three million dollars on attack ads featuring Representative Crockett, attempting to galvanize Republican turnout and frame her as a general election target. His top strategist summed up the message plainly: vote Republican or get Crockett.

When the governor of Texas spends millions to elevate and attack a Democratic primary candidate, it tells you something. They see her strength. They see her potential. They are preparing for November.

Meanwhile, her opponent holds a financial advantage and has outspent her on advertising. We have seen this before. Black women candidates are often told that the math will not work in their favor, that resources will determine the outcome. Yet time and again, when communities mobilize and voters engage, Black women push through.

Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett’s decision to run for the United States Senate is rooted in a powerful Texas tradition of Black women’s leadership. If elected, she would become Texas’s first Black woman U.S. Senator and the first Black woman elected to the U. S. Senate from a Southern state. That milestone reflects both the legacy she carries forward and the urgency of this moment. As the saying goes, everything is bigger in Texas, including the stakes for democracy.

Texas has long produced Black women leaders who shaped national debates and expanded what was possible in public life. Barbara Jordan’s moral clarity and constitutional command during the Watergate era set a national standard for principled leadership. Eddie Bernice Johnson, the predecessor to the seat Representative Crockett now holds, spent decades advancing science, education, and equity while opening doors for generations. Sheila Jackson Lee’s nearly three decades in Congress were defined by relentless advocacy for civil rights, criminal justice reform, and disaster relief, ensuring Houston and communities across Texas were never ignored on the national stage. Their leadership was substantive, disciplined, and transformative. Jasmine Crockett stands firmly in that lineage.

Her candidacy arrives during a defining election cycle. In 2026, as many as five Black women are running for the U.S. Senate, an unprecedented moment in American politics. Only five Black women have ever served in the Senate. Today, Senators Angela Alsobrooks and Lisa Blunt Rochester serve concurrently for the first time in history. Even one additional victory would set a new record.

Representation shapes outcomes. Diverse decision-making tables lead to stronger, more inclusive policies. When Black women lead, economic security, access to health care, quality education, reproductive freedom, and accountable governance rise to the forefront. These are not niche concerns. They are the foundation of thriving communities and a resilient democracy.

Jasmine Crockett’s record reflects that understanding. In Congress, she has built a reputation as a relentless advocate for working families, seniors, labor, and communities too often pushed to the margins. She has served at both the state and federal levels, and as an attorney, she brings discipline and clarity to the work of governing. Her leadership reflects the seriousness that defined Barbara Jordan, the persistence that characterized Eddie Bernice Johnson’s decades of service, and the tenacity that marked Sheila Jackson Lee’s fearless advocacy.


Jasmine Crockett’s Senate run represents more than a campaign. It represents continuity and change. It carries forward the legacy of Barbara Jordan, Eddie Bernice Johnson, and Sheila Jackson Lee, and it signals that Black women’s leadership in Texas is not an exception but a defining force.

With less than a week to go, the momentum is real. The path is clear. And Texas has the chance to make history.

Glynda C. Carr is President & CEO of Higher Heights for America PAC, that endorses and provides strategic support to Black women candidates who advance public policy to improve the lives of Black people and strengthen American democracy. For additional information visit: www.higherheightsforamericapac.org. 

Latest Stories

Latest Podcast

Get Your House In Order- Institutional Succession Planning