Southwest
Dem strategists say Texas requires centrists — but their new Senate frontrunner is anything but
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
When it comes to the heavily contested Senate battle in Texas, former Rep. Colin Allred is out, Rep. Jasmine Crockett is in, and Democrats appear divided over whether Crockett’s a political liability in the ruby-red Lone Star State as the party works to flip the crucial seat.
The stakes in the race are extremely high, as it’s one of a handful across the country that will likely determine if Republicans hold their Senate majority in next year’s midterm elections.
Crockett, a two-term lawmaker who represents a Dallas-area district, is a progressive firebrand and rising Democratic Party star with a large social media following who is known as a vocal critic and foil of President Donald Trump. Her launch will likely further rock the Texas ballot box showdown, which, on the Republican side, includes a very combustible battle between incumbent Sen. John Cornyn and GOP primary rivals state Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt.
“The Democratic Party’s aspirations to win statewide in a red state like Texas simply don’t exist without a centrist Democrat who can build a winning coalition of ideologically diverse voters,” Liam Kerr, co-founder of the Welcome PAC, a group which advocates for moderate Democratic candidates, argued in a statement to Fox News Digital.
JASMINE CROCKETT SAYS SHE DOESN’T NEED TO CONVERT TRUMP SUPPORTERS IN HER TEXAS SENATE BID
Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, speaks after announcing her run in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Monday, Dec. 8, 2025, in Dallas. (LM Otero/AP Photo)
Allred, who was making his second straight bid for the Senate after losing last year to conservative Sen. Ted Cruz by nine points, abandoned his bid on Monday and announced he would run next year to return to the House, hours before Crockett launched her campaign.
Crockett will now face off in her party’s primary with state Rep. James Talarico, a former middle school teacher and Presbyterian seminarian who is also seen as a rising Democrat. The two surging contenders will face off in the March 3 primary.
FIERCE TRUMP CRITIC CROCKETT SHAKES UP HIGH STAKES SENATE RACE
“I think we’re in a period where we’re looking for new fresh faces to lead the party, and that’s what you’ve got in Texas,” veteran Democratic strategist Joe Caiazzo told Fox News Digital.
And Caiazzo, apparently pointing to Allred, said, “No more retreads. If you ran and lost, it’s time for something new.”
Allred, facing the prospect of battling two younger rivals with formidable fundraising, opted to switch races.
Former Democratic Rep. Colin Allred of Texas on Monday suspended his 2026 Senate bid and launched a House campaign. (Reuters/Marco Bello)
“I don’t think he was pushed out of the race. I think he was considering it on his own. But I don’t doubt that he was certainly urged to continue considering it until he finally did it,” a veteran Texas-based Democratic strategist told Fox News Digital.
The strategist, who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely, said, “With Crockett getting into the race, she cuts into a lot of Allred’s base. They’re both pulling from the Black Democratic primary vote, and they’re both from the Dallas-Fort Worth area, except she’s in office right now with a huge following and making a lot of headlines. That’s a real threat to his Senate campaign.”
With less than three months until the primary, political pundits list Crockett as the Democratic frontrunner.
SENATE REPUBLICAN CAMPAIGN CHIEF SAYS CROCKETT CANDIDACY EXPOSES HOW ‘RADICAL’ DEMOCRATS ARE
“I’m done watching the American dream on life support while Trump tries to pull the plug. The gloves have been off, and now I’m jumping into the ring,” Crockett said as she announced her candidacy.
And her launch included a video playing several soundbites of President Donald Trump attacking her.
Kerr said Crockett as the party’s nominee would be a problem in a state where no Democrat has won a Senate election in nearly four decades — since Sen. Lloyd Bentsen’s re-election in 1988.
“We appreciate Rep. Crockett being so explicit that she’s not trying to win over Trump supporters or persuadable voters, but that approach simply doesn’t work in statewide Texas races. You can’t win competitive or red territory without persuading less partisan, independent, and Republican voters,” he argued.
But Michael Ceraso, a Democratic strategist and founder of Winning Margins, a communications firm, told Fox News Digital that “Rep. Crockett is running to change the political landscape in Texas.”
“If she wins, she becomes a legend who can run for president. If she loses, she still becomes a political voice for years to come who gets the money to talk and move people.”
Ceraso argued that the Democratic Party is “a reactionary party to President Trump and will be that way for the next few years. Crockett is turning this ‘reaction’ into a platform, and maybe she’ll stick the landing on policies that connect with voters.”
Asked if Crockett is too far to the left to win statewide, the Texas-based Democratic strategist who asked for anonymity, pointing to the party’s poor performances, said, “It can’t get any worse, right. We keep losing by 10 points. We may as well try something different.”
Republicans are over the moon at the prospect of Crockett as the Democrats’ 2026 Senate nominee.
“I think it says something about who the Democrats are nationally, not just in Texas. What it says is that they’ve been overrun by this radical left agenda that focuses on rhetoric, not reality,” said Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital on Monday.
But Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin isn’t buying the GOP messaging that all Democrats are far-left radicals.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
“We have conservative Democrats, we have centrist Democrats, we have progressives, and we have leftists. And I’ve always said that you win elections through addition, not subtraction. You win by bringing people into your coalition and growing your party,” Martin told Fox News Digital in a recent interview.
And Martin argued that “unlike the Republicans, who are fairly homogenous, who, you know, basically have one ideology and do not allow for any dissent, the Democratic Party has a lot of different thoughts and ideas which certainly share the same goals, but many different ways to get to those goals.”
Read the full article from Here
Southwest
Former MLB great Mark Teixeira makes stance on Minnesota ICE shooting clear
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
The Minnesota ICE shooting that resulted in the death of Renee Good has drawn strong reactions everywhere.
According to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Good was operating a vehicle that agents ordered her to exit. Good, according to Noem, refused and “attempted to run them over and ram them with her vehicle.”
After Vice President JD Vance delivered a strong statement defending ICE agents for their work, the White House posted a graphic with a portion of Vance’s plea and the caption, “STAND WITH ICE.”
Texas Rangers first baseman Mark Teixeira rounds the bases after hitting a home run against the Baltimore Orioles at Ameriquest Field Aug. 7, 2005, in Arlington, Texas. (Tim Heitman/USA Today Sports )
Former MLB All-Star Mark Teixeira, who launched his campaign for Texas’ 21st Congressional District in August as a Republican to “help defend President Trump’s America First agenda,” voiced his support.
“I stand with ICE,” the former Texas Ranger, Atlanta Brave, Los Angeles Angel and New York Yankee wrote on X.
Teixeira’s announcement followed Rep. Chip Roy’s decision not to seek re-election and run for Texas attorney general. Roy, who represents the district, made the announcement in a campaign video shared on X last year. His video centered on preserving the Lone Star State’s legacy of “liberty, freedom and self-determination.”
Former New York Yankee Mark Teixeira throws out the first pitch before a game between the Minnesota Twins and the Yankees in the 2019 ALDS at Yankee Stadium. (Brad Penner/USA Today Sports)
US PATENT OFFICE DENIES A’S TRADEMARK APPLICATIONS FOR ‘LAS VEGAS ATHLETICS’
Noem called the incident “domestic terrorism.”
“An officer of ours acted quickly and defensively, shot to protect himself and the people around him,” she said.
Federal authorities said Good tried to run over ICE agents who were part of a 2,000-member team sent to the Twin Cities to round up and deport undocumented immigrant criminals.
Teixeira, 45, played 14 seasons in the majors. He debuted with the Rangers in 2003 but is perhaps best known for being an MVP candidate and World Series champion with the Yankees, the final stop of his career.
New York Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira hits an RBI single against the Oakland Athletics during the sixth inning at the Oakland Coliseum May 22, 2016, in Oakland, Calif. (Kelley L Cox/USA Today Sports)
One of the best hitters in the game, Teixeira was a three-time Silver Slugger Award winner and finished his career with a .269 batting average and 409 home runs. He was a five-time Gold Glove winner and was a member of the Yankees’ 2009 World Series championship team.
The congressional race is set for November 2026, with a primary scheduled for March.
Fox News’ Jackson Thompson contributed to this report.
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Read the full article from Here
Southwest
Republican senators hit border, touting tougher security and tax cuts, in 2026 kickoff
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Aiming to not only hold but expand their 53-47 majority in November’s midterm elections, top Senate Republicans are showcasing the plummeting rates of border crossings during a stop Friday at the nation’s southern border with Mexico.
And the group, led by Senate Majority Leader John Thune, is also highlighting how President Donald Trump and Republican lawmakers are “putting more money in Americans’ pockets.”
The stop at the border, hosted by One Nation, a nonprofit outside group closely aligned with Thune, is seen as an unofficial kickoff by Senate Republicans ahead of the midterms to tout the sweeping “One Big, Beautiful Bill Act,” Trump’s signature domestic achievement last year that was passed nearly entirely along party lines in the GOP controlled Congress.
At the event at the border, which was a regular stop for Republicans amid the surge in border crossings during then-President Joe Biden’s administration, the GOP senators are teaming up with members of the National Border Patrol Council. And they are highlighting how the passage of the domestic policy measure “secured transformational border security funding,” according to One Nation.
THUNE PREVIEWS SENATE REPUBLICANS’ MIDTERM MESSAGE
Senate Majority Leader John Thune and fellow Senate Republicans speak to reporters at an event at the nation’s southern border with Mexico, on Jan. 9, 2026. (One Nation)
“This is a remarkable, remarkable difference in just a year,” Thune said at the event. “It’s been an incredible year of progress when it comes to the southern border and the American people are experiencing the benefit of that in the form of having safer streets and safer communities and safer neighborhoods.”
But with Democrats enjoying decisive victories and overperformances in the 2025 elections and in a slew of special elections and other ballot box showdowns last year, which were fueled by their laser focus on affordability amid persistent inflation, the Republican senators are also using Friday’s trip to spotlight the tax cut and energy policy provisions in the bill, which they rebranded as the “Working Families Tax Cut.”
“The Working Families Tax Cut will make buying groceries more affordable for working Americans this year,” the Senate Republicans touted on social media on the eve of the border stop. “Every Democrat voted against it.”
DOUBLING DOWN: TOP HOUSE DEMOCRAT SAYS FOCUS ON HIGH PRICES ‘ABSOLUTELY GOING TO CONTINUE’
And they also highlighted that “Senate Republicans have worked closely with President Trump to lower energy prices and make life more affordable — and the results speak for themselves.”
Thune, at the border, pointed to the tax cut provisions in the GOP measure, including no tax on tips and overtime and reduced rates for seniors on Social Security, along with “the jobs that are going to be created by the pro-growth policies that we put in place….are going to lead us to a place where the American people are seeing their incomes go up.”
But Democrats see the cost of living as their winning issue heading into the midterms.
“If the Republican agenda actually made life more affordable for working Americans, then they wouldn’t be desperately flailing as families struggle to afford groceries, health care, and housing,” Lauren French, communications director at Senate Majority PAC, the top Senate Democrat-aligned outside group, told Fox News Digital. “Instead of focusing on working people, Trump and Senate Republicans are focused on bringing chaos and instability into our communities.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., holds a political and policy event Friday at the nation’s southern border with Mexico. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Joining Thune, the longtime senator from South Dakota, at the border is Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming, number two in Senate Republican leadership.
There are also Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, who faces a bruising GOP primary showdown in March against challengers Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt; and Republican Sens. Jon Husted of Ohio and Ashley Moody of Florida, who were appointed last year and will face voters this November.
HEALTHCARE, ECONOMY AND THE ‘ONE BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’: WELCOME TO THE MIDTERMS
GOP Sens. Pete Ricketts of Nebraska and Mike Rounds of South Dakota, who are up for re-election this year, are also on the trip, as are former Rep. Mike Rogers and former Republican National Committee chair Mike Whatley, the GOP Senate candidates in battlegrounds Michigan and North Carolina who are backed by Thune and the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
“We’re seeing signs already that the economy is starting to tick up and is starting to take hold as the President’s policies are getting in place,” Whatley argued last month in a Fox News Digital interview. “We need to make sure that we have the trade policies, the tax policies, the regulatory policies from this administration that are going to help our small businesses, our manufacturers and our farmers across North Carolina.”
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
But Democrats are energized as the midterm year begins, as they continue to keep their focus on the issue of affordability.
“Donald Trump has lost the economy, is losing his mind, and is going to lose the midterms,” Democratic National Committee chair Ken Martin claimed in a recent statement.
Read the full article from Here
Southwest
Body found during search for missing Texas teen Camila Mendoza Olmos as another teen girl disappears
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
A body was found Tuesday evening as authorities in Bexar County, Texas, grapple with a series of disappearances involving teen girls who all went missing within a week.
The body was found during the search for 19-year-old Camila Olmos, though police said it is too early to determine whether the remains belong to her.
Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said during a news conference that investigators had “just recently found a body in a field” around 4:40 to 4:45 p.m., adding that the medical examiner will determine both the identity of the body and the cause and manner of death.
The body was found by a joint team of sheriff’s deputies and FBI agents in an area of tall grass near a landscaping business, a few hundred yards from Olmos’ home, according to Salazar.
MISSING CAMILA MENDOZ OLMOS: DASHCAM CAPTURES LAST SIGHTING OF TEXAS TEEN WHO VANISHED CHRISTMAS EVE
Camila Olmos was reported missing on Christmas Eve. (Bexar County Sheriff)
A firearm was recovered near the body, which authorities said had been an item of interest during the search.
Salazar said investigators do not currently suspect murder and noted there were indicators consistent with possible self-harm, though he stressed it is too early to draw conclusions while the scene is still being processed.
Olmos was last seen leaving her home in far northwest Bexar County around 7 a.m. on Dec. 24, authorities said. Her case came as two other girls were reported missing in the area. Fourteen-year-old Sofia Gabriela Peters-Cobos has since been found safe, while 17-year-old Angelique Johnson remains missing, according to police.
Law enforcement has said there is no confirmed connection between the cases.
MISSING CAMILA MENDOZ OLMOS: DASHCAM CAPTURES LAST SIGHTING OF TEXAS TEEN WHO VANISHED CHRISTMAS EVE
Angelique Johnson, from San Antonio, Texas, was reported missing. (Bexar County Sheriff’s Office)
Texas Department of Public Safety said the Clear Alert for Olmos has been discontinued, though authorities urged anyone with information related to the cases or the whereabouts of Angelique Johnson to contact the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office and the San Antonio Police Department did not respond immediately to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Greg Norman and Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.
Read the full article from Here
-
Detroit, MI6 days ago2 hospitalized after shooting on Lodge Freeway in Detroit
-
Technology4 days agoPower bank feature creep is out of control
-
Dallas, TX5 days agoDefensive coordinator candidates who could improve Cowboys’ brutal secondary in 2026
-
Health6 days agoViral New Year reset routine is helping people adopt healthier habits
-
Iowa3 days agoPat McAfee praises Audi Crooks, plays hype song for Iowa State star
-
Nebraska3 days agoOregon State LB transfer Dexter Foster commits to Nebraska
-
Nebraska3 days agoNebraska-based pizza chain Godfather’s Pizza is set to open a new location in Queen Creek
-
Dallas, TX1 day agoAnti-ICE protest outside Dallas City Hall follows deadly shooting in Minneapolis