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Jasmine Crockett in U.S. Senate Race in Texas
ASSOCIATED PRESS – (WBAP/KLIF) – Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett launched a campaign Monday for the U.S. Senate in Texas, bringing a national profile to a race that may be critical to Democrats’ long-shot hopes of reclaiming a Senate majority in next year’s midterm elections.
Crockett, one of Congress’ most outspoken Democrats and a frequent target of GOP attacks, jumped into the race on the final day of qualifying in Texas. She is seeking the Senate seat held by Republican John Cornyn, who is running for reelection in the GOP-dominated state.
Democrats need a net gain of four Senate seats to wrest control from Republicans next November, when most of the seats up for reelection are in states like Texas that President Donald Trump won last year. Democrats have long hoped to make Texas more competitive after decades of Republican dominance. Cornyn, first elected to the Senate since 2002, is facing the toughest GOP primary of his career against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt.
Crockett’s announcement came hours after former Rep. Colin Allred ended his own campaign for the Democratic nomination in favor of attempting a House comeback bid. She faces a March 3 primary against Democratic state Rep. James Talarico, a former teacher with a rising national profile fueled by viral social media posts challenging Republican policies such as private school vouchers and requiring the Ten Commandments in classrooms.
Talarico raised almost $6.3 million in the three weeks after he formally organized his primary campaign committee in September, according its first campaign finance report, and he had nearly $5 million in cash on hand at the end of the month. Crockett raised about $2.7 million for her House campaign fund from July through September and ended the month with $4.6 million in cash on hand.
Crockett also could test Democratic voters’ appetite for a blunt communicator who is eager to take on Republicans as their party sets out again in pursuit of a statewide victory in Texas for the first time since 1994.
Democrats see their best opportunity to pick up the Texas seat if Paxton wins the Republican nomination because he has been shadowed for much of his career by legal and personal issues. Yet Paxton is popular with Trump’s most ardent supporters.
Hunt, who has served two terms representing a Houston-area district, defied GOP leaders by entering the GOP race.
Crockett, a civil rights attorney serving her second House term, built her national profile with a candid style and viral moments on Capitol Hill. Among those who have taken notice is Trump, who has called her a “low IQ person.” In response, Crockett said she would agree to take an IQ test against the president.
She traded insults with Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, who announced last month that she would resign in January, and had heated exchanges with Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina.
She also mocked Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott — who uses a wheelchair — as “Gov. Hot Wheels.” She later said she was referring to Abbott’s policy of using “planes, trains and automobiles” to send thousands of immigrants in Texas illegally to Democratic-ledDemocrats came closest in the past 30 years to winning a statewide contest in 2018, when former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke came within 3 points of ousting Republican Sen. Ted Cruz. That was during the midterm election of Trump’s first administration, and Democrats believe next year’s race could be similarly favorable to their party.
Allred lost to Cruz by 8.5 points last year. He is running for the House in a newly drawn district in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, which he represented in Congress before his Senate bid in 2024. An internal party battle, Allred said, “would prevent the Democratic Party from going into this critical election unified against the danger posed to our communities and our Constitution by Donald Trump and one of his Republican bootlickers.”
Allred’s new district is part of the new congressional map that Texas lawmakers approved earlier this year as part of Trump’s push to redraw House boundaries to Republicans’ advantage. It includes some areas that Allred represented in Congress from 2019-2025. Most of the district is currently being represented by Rep. Marc Veasey, but he has planned to run in a new, neighboring district.
A former professional football player and civil rights attorney, Allred was among Democrats’ star recruits for the 2018 midterms. That year, the party gained a net of 40 House seats, including multiple suburban and exurban districts in Texas, and won a House majority that redefined Trump’s first presidency.
Besides avoiding a free-for-all Senate primary, Marshall said Allred is helping Democrats’ cause by becoming a candidate for another office, and he said that’s a key for the party to have any shot at flipping the state.
“The infrastructure isn’t terrible but it clearly needs improvement,” he said. “Having strong, competitive candidates for every office is part of building that energy and operation. Texas needs strong candidates in House races, for governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general — every office — so that voters are hearing from Democrats everywhere.”
(Copyright, All Rights Reserved, WBAP/KLIF 2025)
Collin Allred Drops Out of Senate Race
(WBAP/KLIF) — WFAA News 8 — DALLAS — Democrat Colin Allred has dropped out of the U.S. Senate race and said he will run for Congress again next year in the newly drawn 33rd district, just hours before the deadline for candidates to file.
“In the past few days, I’ve come to believe that a bruising Senate Democratic primary and runoff would prevent the Democratic Party from going into this critical election unified against the danger posed to our communities and our Constitution by Donald Trump and one of his Republican bootlickers Paxton, Cornyn, or Hunt. That’s why I’ve made the difficult decision to end my campaign for the U.S. Senate,” Allred said in a statement to WFAA.
“But I’m nowhere near done serving my community and our state,” he continued. “Today, I’m announcing my campaign for Congress to represent the newly drawn Congressional District 33.”
Allred leaves the Democratic race for U.S. Senate just hours before Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett is expected to join it. Crockett has planned a “special announcement” about her political future at 4:30 p.m. on Monday.
The deadline for candidates to file to run for statewide and federal offices in Texas next year is today at 6:00 p.m.
Though Allred was the first high-profile Democrat to launch a campaign for U.S. Senate this year, he had not yet officially filed the paperwork with the Texas Secretary of State.
Allred dropping out of the Democratic race for U.S. Senate now avoids a costly runoff for the party. State Rep. James Tallarico, D-Austin, remains in the Senate race and will likely face Crockett alone.
Allred will now appear on the ballot against Congresswoman Julie Johnson in the Democratic Primary for Texas Congressional District 33.
U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth, currently represents Texas 33. It used to stretch from Tarrant into Dallas County. But Republicans redrew the district and cut out Tarrant County altogether. Now, the new 33rd congressional district is solely in Dallas County and remains majority Democratic.
U.S. Rep. Julie Johnson, D-Dallas, had already announced that she will run for the newly redrawn 33rd district after the GOP made her seat in the 32nd district majority Republican.
But Johnson did not expect to face Allred in the primary.
The LGBT Equality PAC criticized Allred for putting her incumbency in jeopardy.
“At a time when Trump and the GOP target the LGBTQ community, the last thing a Democrat should do is try to unseat the first openly LGBTQ Member of Congress from Texas. Unconscionable,” said the Equality PAC in a post on X Sunday night.
But Allred said the new 33rd congressional district is a good fit since he lives there, used to represent parts of it when he served in Congress, and said he secured more than $135-million in federal resources for it during his three terms in Congress.
“I’m humbly asking to return to Congress — to keep fighting so that kids who are growing up all across the 33rd district can get the same chances as I did,” Allred’s statement said.
The last-minute musical chairs is happening after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Republicans’ newly redrawn congressional maps that eliminate five Democratic districts and make it easier for President Trump to maintain control of Congress next year.
Republicans still face a bruising primary for their own U.S. Senate nomination. Incumbent John Cornyn is being challenged by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and U.S. Congressman Wesley Hunt, R-Houston. With three well-funded names in the GOP race, it is likely to go to a runoff next spring.
(Copyright 2025 WBAP/KLIF Newsroom News. All rights reserved. Contains material from WFAA.)
Fort Worth Police Have Made an Arrest With the Shooting That Happened Outside Hulen Mall
(WBAP/KLIF) – FORT WORTH, TX – According to police, around 2 o’clock Saturday afternoon a man was shot in the leg in the parking lot between the Macys and the Red Robin outside Hulen Mall. The man was later hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries. On Sunday, Fort Worth Police Chief Eddie Garcia stated that the department’s fugitive team had arrested 21-year-old Kyonte Mitchell in connection with the shooting. Mitchell has been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and had an outstanding warrant for the same charge in a separate incident.
(Copyright 2025 WBAP/KLIF. All Rights Reserved)
Key GOP Senator Says He Has No Objection to Releasing Video of Strike That Killed Two Survivors
The Republican who leads the Senate Intelligence Committee says a video of a U.S. military strike on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean that killed two survivors of the initial attack shows “nothing remarkable.” Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton says he would not oppose its public release if the Pentagon were to declassify it. Cotton is partially aligning himself with President Donald Trump and top Democrats in favor of releasing the video of the Sept. 2 attack. But he is splitting with Democrats over whether military personnel acted lawfully in carrying out a second strike to kill the two survivors. Cotton spoke Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
(Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Trump Hosts the Kennedy Center Honors Recognizing Stallone, Kiss, Gaynor and Others
WASHINGTON (AP) — Sylvester Stallone, Kiss and Gloria Gaynor are among the luminaries being celebrated at the annual Kennedy Center Honors. Donald Trump is hosting the Sunday night gala in Washington, and it’s a presidential first. Since returning to office in January, the Republican has made big changes to the performing arts institution. He’s ousted the leadership and had himself voted in as chair. The honorees are being celebrated for their influence on American culture and the arts. It’s expected to be emotional for Kiss members after the recent death of their original lead guitarist, Ace Frehley.
(Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Democratic Governors Say the Party’s Midterm Strategy Must Focus on Voters’ Pocketbook Concerns
PHOENIX (AP) — Democratic governors who met over the weekend in Arizona say the party must focus on affordability in next year’s midterm elections. They aim to build on wins last month in governor’s races in New Jersey and Virginia by addressing everyday concerns such as housing prices, rent and grocery costs. The strategy seeks to unite Democrats across the ideological spectrum while confronting President Donald Trump’s policies. Yet there are risks if economic conditions change for the better or if Democrats fail to deliver on their promises. Governor’s offices will be up for election in 36 states next year.
(Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Trump Says Zelenskyy ‘Isn’t Ready’ Yet to Accept US-Authored Proposal to End Russia-Ukraine War
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — President Donald Trump is claiming Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy “isn’t ready” to sign off on a U.S-authored peace proposal aimed at ending the Russia-Ukraine war. Trump was critical of Zelenskyy after U.S. and Ukrainian negotiators completed three days of talks aimed at trying to narrow differences on the U.S. administration’s proposal. But in an exchange with reporters on Sunday, Trump suggested the Ukrainian leader is holding up the talks from moving forward. The president told reporters: “Russia is, I believe, fine with it, but I’m not sure that Zelenskyy’s fine with it. His people love it it. But he isn’t ready.”
(Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Judge Deals Setback to Justice Department Effort to Seek New Indictment Against Comey
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge has dealt a setback to Justice Department efforts to seek a new indictment against former FBI Director James Comey. U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly has temporarily barred prosecutors from using evidence they’d relied on when they initially secured criminal charges. The ruling doesn’t preclude the government from trying again soon to indict Comey. But it does suggest prosecutors may have to do that without citing communications between Comey and a close friend and associate, Columbia University law professor Daniel Richman. A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment Sunday.
(Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Netanyahu Says Israel and Hamas Will Enter Ceasefire’s Second Phase Soon
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel and Hamas are expected to move into the second phase of their ceasefire soon. It will begin after Hamas returns the remains of the last hostage held in Gaza. Netanyahu spoke during a news conference with visiting German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Sunday. The ceasefire’s second phase involves disarming Hamas militants and demilitarizing Gaza. It also includes deploying an international force to secure Gaza and forming a temporary Palestinian government. Merz said Germany is assisting with the second phase’s implementation by sending officers and diplomats to a U.S.-led civilian and military coordination center in Israel.
(Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Government Waives Part of a Biden-Era Fine Against Southwest Airlines
The U.S. Department of Transportation is waiving part of a fine assessed against Southwest Airlines after the company canceled thousands of flights during a winter storm in 2022. Under a 2023 settlement reached by the Biden administration, Southwest agreed to a $140 million civil penalty for violating consumer protection laws. Most of that money went toward compensation for travelers, but the airline agreed to pay $35 million to the U.S. Treasury in three installments. On Friday, the Transportation Department issued an order waiving the final $11 million installment. The department said Southwest should get credit for significantly improving its on-time performance and investing in network operations.
(Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)