James Carville Criticizes Jasmine Crockett's Senate Bid, Says She's Too Self-Centered to Win
Liberal political commentator James Carville believes that Rep. Jasmine Crockett has at least one fatal flaw when it comes to running successfully to be the next senator of Texas.
Crockett announced Monday that she will seek the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate and then look to flip the seat currently held by GOP Sen. John Cornyn.
To succeed, she must first defeat Democratic rising star Texas state Rep. James Talarico.
An October University of Houston-Texas Southern University poll found Crockett ahead in the race of current and potential Democratic Senate candidates with 31 percent support, followed by state Rep. James Talarico and former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke each at 25 percent, while former Congressman Colin Allred garnered 13 percent backing.
Allred announced Monday that he is dropping out of the Senate race and will seek a House seat instead.
On the Republican side this time, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is slightly ahead in the race, with 34 percent, followed by Cornyn at 33 percent and Hunt at 22 percent, with 11 percent undecided, according to the University of Houston survey.
Carville said of Crockett’s candidacy on his “Politics War Room” podcast published Wednesday, “First of all, she seems like she’s well-educated and things like that. She’s got a lot of energy. But to me, she violates the first rule of politics. And that is, in politics, we always make it about the voters and never about yourself.”
Carville noted that Republicans took credit for putting out a poll showing that Crockett had a good shot to win the Senate race, which enticed her to enter the race.
“She said she saw the polls, and she thought she had to get in. I’m just telling you, she represents a plus-24 Democratic district. I would like her a lot more if she tried to help Democrats who are in plus-three Republican districts,” he said.
“You can stay in Congress as long as you want. You can get all the hits. You can get all the clicks. You can get on all of the TV shows, but you’re not helping very much, as long as you’re polemic [i.e., using contentious political rhetoric]. You can keep getting attention, but you’re not helping very much,” Carville argued.
“What wins elections is not sitting there talking incessantly about yourself. Winning elections is not how many clicks you get or how much overnight fundraising you do. Winning elections is being part of framing issues and understanding where people are coming from. And I don’t think Congressman Crockett is very good at that. I’ll be very frank,” the former Bill Clinton campaign adviser said.
Carville’s “Warroom” podcast co-host Al Hunt contended that Talarico would be a better option for Democrats in the Senate race.
“He talks about voters more than himself, which is a big thing here,” Hunt said.
In late October 2024, Carville wrote an op-ed for The New York Times titled, “Three Reasons I’m Certain Kamala Harris Will Win.”
The first reason he offered is that Donald Trump is an election loser, pointing to the 2020 presidential race and the Democratic blue wave during the 2018 midterms.
Second, Carville said Harris had more money, and finally, he just had a gut feeling about how the race would go.
His gut proved false as Trump returned to office in a seven swing-state sweep, and the GOP retained control of the House and won back the Senate.
Carville asserted Wednesday that Trump “is done,” pointing to recent Democratic wins in places like New Jersey, Virginia, and Miami, Florida.
“He’s done. It’s over. You’re a loser, dude. You’re losing everywhere, and you’re going to lose more because you, my friend, are a loser,” he said.
Ronald Reagan found himself in a similar position during his first term as he sought to turn the economy around and rein in the inflation that had run rampant under Democrat Jimmy Carter.
Reagan’s approval ranking sank to a low of 35 percent in January 1983, nearly identical to Trump’s now at 36 percent.
Democrats made significant gains in the off-year elections, but then the economic boom kicked in later in 1983.
A Reagan 49-state landslide ensued in November 1984, and the GOP picked up 15 seats in the House and maintained control of the Senate. Shortly before Reagan left office in January 1989, his approval stood at 63 percent.
Economists are arguing that the U.S. economy appears poised to boom again in 2026.
Carville’s commentary about Crockett seems accurate, but his report of Trump’s demise may be greatly exaggerated.
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