Texas Democrat voters witnessed the first side-by-side glimpse of their party’s candidates for the state’s Senate seat up for election this year in a debate focused on berating the Trump administration. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) currently holds the seat and is facing his own competitive primary.
In what was less a debate and more an agreement on taking jabs at the federal government, Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas), one of the party’s most vocal members, and state Rep. James Talarico, a former middle school teacher and Presbyterian seminarian, cordially shared the stage on Jan. 24. They denounced President Donald Trump’s handling of issues such as illegal immigration enforcement and accused the administration of not allowing federal employees to take water breaks.
The candidates said early on in the debate that they are not enemies and took similar stances throughout the event on a number of topics.
Neither missed an opportunity to criticize the Trump administration. The moderators asked each toward the end of the debate whether they would support a Trump impeachment.
“I think that there is more than enough to impeach Donald Trump. Period. On the face of it,” Crockett said. “I think that we should start at an impeachment inquiry.”
When asked about one specific reason for an impeachment, Crockett said Trump’s “unlawful” use of tariffs. Talarico stopped short of identifying a specific offense but agreed with Crockett that the current administration has committed them.
“I will pore through the evidence. I will treat it with the utmost seriousness, and I will vote my conscience,” Talarico said. “If those charges are brought in the U.S. House and they come before the U.S. Senate, I will carefully evaluate them, I will weigh the evidence, and I will do my duty as a U.S. senator.”
Moderators questioned the Democratic candidates on the ongoing operations targeting illegal immigrants in Minnesota. They were asked to explain if they support defunding or abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Crockett went first, labeling the agency a rogue organization.
“I think that we need to clean house from top to bottom,” she said.
Crockett said she was supportive of a previous effort to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
Talarico agreed to defund the agency and impeach Noem.
“It’s time to tear down this secret police force and replace it with an agency that actually is going to focus on public safety,” the state representative said.
Talarico said ICE agents should be brought before Congress, have their identities revealed, and face prosecution.
The moderators followed up, asking how the candidates would balance their harsh opinions of ICE versus the hundreds of thousands of Texans they would represent who support the current immigration enforcement operations.
“Let me be clear. They are supposed to do immigration and customs enforcement. Not going after U.S. citizens. Not going after people that are documented,” Crockett answered.
“Our southern border should be like our front porch. There should be a giant welcome mat out front and a lock on the door,” Talarico said.
Democrats need to gain four seats in the midterms to regain control of the Senate. Although the party is hopeful to be competitive in Texas, voters in the Lone Star State have not elected a Democrat to statewide office in more than 30 years.
Texas’s primary election is March 3, and early voting begins on Feb. 17.
