What ‘fighters’? Texas Democratic Senate rivals pull punches in debate | Opinion

Most political campaigns are way too long, but in the case of the U.S. Senate primary between Jasmine Crockett and James Talarico, it’s good that there are a few weeks left.

That’s because Saturday’s debate didn’t offer undecided Texas Democratic voters much to go on.

Crockett, the bombastic Dallas congresswoman, and Talarico, the more-measured Austin-area state representative, largely agreed on immigration, health care, the economy, foreign policy and taking on Donald Trump. Over the course of an hour, they had no significant exchanges airing either policy or stylistic differences with each other.

Squint, though, and you could see some separation. Crockett was more blunt about Trump, pointing to the latest horrendous killing by federal agents in Minnesota and framing the current political atmosphere as a dangerous, “unprecedented time.” Talarico blasted the president, too, but he also offered a broader attack on billionaires and corporations.

Their policy prescriptions were variations on the same theme, and standard Democratic fare at that. Both would raise taxes on the ultra-wealthy but declined to say where they would draw the line on who pays more. Both supported sweeping expansion of government-funded health insurance. Both condemned Trump’s recent actions in Venezuela.

Moderators Daniel Marin of Austin’s KXAN-TV and Gromer Jeffers Jr. of The Dallas Morning News, seeming to anticipate the reluctance, opened the debate by trying to draw the two out on their stylistic differences and who could fulfill the ultimate Democratic priority: winning a statewide race in Texas for the first time in more than three decades. Crockett argued that she is a brawler who does better with constituencies Democrats need to win back, including Black men and the working class.

Talarico repeated his message that he is a progressive Christian while also insisting that he’s a fighter who has taken on education cuts and pharmaceutical companies during his three terms in Austin. “I have fought tooth and nail for our values,” he said.

What’s a Texas Democrat to do? When Crockett entered the race at the last minute in December, she seemed like a shoo-in, given her national profile for caustic combativeness toward Trump and other Republicans, especially Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. But Talarico has shown impressive fundraising strength and built a quieter national profile of his own, winning praise from figures such as podcasting king Joe Rogan.

Reliable polls are scarce, and even among the few released so far, the results swing wildly. Each candidate appeals to different constituencies in the party, and it’s hard to measure who will turn out to vote between Feb. 21, the start of early voting, and Election Day, March 3. And turnout could be higher than usual because Democrats smell vulnerability on the Republican side, especially if the GOP nominates the tarnished Ken Paxton over incumbent John Cornyn.

That deeper interest isn’t reflected just yet. Talarico and Crockett were understandably reluctant to brawl with each other in a sleepy Saturday afternoon debate when Texans are thinking more about wind chills and chili than primaries and polls.

But if the candidates are the fighters they claim to be and the prize is as attainable as they want to believe, they’d better start throwing punches soon — and not just at Trump and Paxton.