Sunny Hostin used her platform on ABCs The View to press Texas Democratic Senate hopeful James Talarico on whether criticism of his primary opponents electability was really a veiled attack on her race.
According to Fox News, Hostin framed the issue in explicitly racial terms as she questioned whether Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, could prevail in a statewide contest if she defeats Talarico in the primary. You're running the Democratic primary against U.S. Representative Jasmine Crockett, and there has been a lot of discourse around her electability, and some would say that is code for 'they don't think a Black woman can win statewide.' Should she win this primary against you, do you think she can win a statewide race?" Hostin asked Talarico.
Crockett, who appeared on the program on January 6, had previously insisted she was accustomed to being underestimated and defended her candidacy as viable despite Texas long record of rejecting Democrats in statewide races.
Talarico, eager to avoid any appearance of racial bias, responded without hesitation that Crockett could win. He answered Hostins question with a firm absolutely, while stressing that he and Crockett are political allies despite being rivals in the primary.
He went on to portray their contest as a family dispute within the Democratic Party rather than a fundamental ideological clash. "I have deep love and respect for her. She is a leader in our state. And Ive said before that if she wins this nomination, I will be behind her 1,000% and I will do everything I possibly can to get her over the finish line. Were on the same team, Jasmine and I. Were trying to change the politics of our state and take back this country," Talarico said.
Seeking to distinguish himself, Talarico argued that his electoral track record makes him uniquely positioned to compete in November. "What I think I bring to this primary is something unique. I have a history of winning these kind of races. I got elected to the State House by flipping a Trump district that no one thought was winnable, in a county that was so red it hadn't voted for a Democrat for president since Jimmy Carter," he said.
He credited that victory to a strategy that reaches beyond the Democratic base and courts moderates and even some conservatives. "And I did that by building a big tent, by inspiring Democrats to get off the couch, bringing in young voters who were disillusioned with politics, and peeling people off from the middle and even from the right, that to me is the winning formula. That is how we win Texas, and it's how we save this American experiment in November," he added.
Yet even as he touted his crossover appeal, Talarico embraced a hard-left stance on immigration enforcement that is likely to alarm many Texans. During the interview, Talarico also said it was time to "tear down" ICE, which he described as a "secret police force," and replace it with something that actually focuses on public safety.
That rhetoric underscores the broader challenge Democrats face in a state that has not elected a member of their party to statewide office since 1994. With the border crisis dominating public concern and Texas voters repeatedly rejecting liberal statewide candidates, proposals to dismantle federal immigration enforcement may resonate with progressive activists but risk alienating the very swing voters Talarico claims are essential to save this American experiment in November.
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