Former Vice President Kamala Harris has made her first major return to campaign politics since her 2024 presidential run, endorsing Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett in a competitive Texas Senate primary.
The Crockett campaign confirmed the endorsement, first reported by the Texas Tribune. Harris’ endorsement includes two robocalls to boost Crockett, one Friday and one Tuesday ahead of the primary, according to a Harris aide.
The Texas Tribune reported that Harris said on the robocall, “Texas has an opportunity to send a fighter like Jasmine Crockett to the United States Senate. Jasmine has the experience and track record of holding Donald Trump and his billionaire cronies accountable.”
Crockett is in a tight race against state Rep. James Talarico for the Democratic Senate nomination on March 3. GOP Sen. John Cornyn was joined by state Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wesley is in a competitive primary race against Hunt.
The Democratic primary could be decided Tuesday if the candidate wins the most votes, with the Republican contest expected to go to a May 26 runoff.
Harris’ endorsement of Crockett marks the former vice president’s first endorsement in a competitive primary since losing to Trump in the 2024 presidential race. Harris, who announced last year that he would not run for governor of California in 2026, made a low-profile appearance on the campaign trail in a special congressional election in Tennessee last year.
He went on tour to promote his memoir about the 2024 campaign. And he recently relaunched his campaign’s social media account in an effort to reach Gen Z voters.
Crockett was the national co-chair for Harris’ campaign in 2024, and he has shown that role on the campaign trail in Texas. But Crockett had some criticism for how Democrats have approached the 2024 race, suggesting the party has focused more on winning over Republicans in recent campaign stops.
“I have to be honest with some of the things I’ve heard as I’ve traveled the country. A lot of our base is not motivated,” Crockett said at an event in Conroe, Texas, earlier this month.
“When we thought about the coalition that would make us successful, some people decided to sit on the couch,” Crockett continued. “And in some of those conversations, I was asking, ‘What’s going on? Like, what’s going on? And there was so much focus on getting Republicans, a lot of Democrats were like, ‘What’s the point?’ right?”
“There was a lot of attention, I’m going to put a Republican in the cabinet. I’m going to get the Republicans to be here for us,” Crockett added. “I’m not saying Republicans aren’t welcome, because the fights I’m fighting are for everybody, but I think it’s really fair to double down on the Democratic base and say, ‘I’m a Democrat, and I’m going to fight for those principles, things like raising wages, that again help everybody.'”
A key part of Crockett’s case is turning out disaffected voters who are more inclined to support Democrats, who could flip a Senate seat in Texas. Talarico, meanwhile, emphasized that he could appeal to Democrats, independents and Republicans, noting that he won a state legislative seat that Trump also held.
