BS BULLETIN:
- Jasmine Crockett’s FIRE PAC announced a new slate of Texas endorsements without Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico.
- Former Democratic Rep. Susan Wild responded with an unusually blunt attack, calling Crockett a “narcissistic drama queen.”
- Crockett says she already backed Talarico after losing the primary and is concentrating her political operation on down-ballot races.
Former Democratic Rep. Susan Wild apparently has some thoughts about Jasmine Crockett’s approach to party unity.
“F*** her. That’s all I can say,” Wild wrote after Crockett’s FIRE PAC released a fresh batch of endorsements that did not include James Talarico, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Texas.
Wild, who represented Pennsylvania in Congress for three terms, accused her former colleague of being a “narcissistic drama queen.”
“Karma will suck,” she added.
Talarico defeated Crockett in their bitter March Democratic Senate primary, 52.4% to 46.2%. Crockett had been especially strong among Black voters, while Talarico ultimately won the nomination.
The latest flare-up began after FIRE PAC announced endorsements for local and legislative candidates around Texas.
Talarico’s name wasn’t there.
But neither was Democratic gubernatorial nominee Gina Hinojosa, and Crockett has repeatedly said her current focus is helping down-ballot candidates rather than campaigning alongside Talarico.
Asked previously whether she would campaign with Talarico, Crockett answered:
“I will be campaigning down-ballot.”
She has argued that smaller races routinely get swallowed up by attention on major statewide contests and that she wants to use her profile to help candidates who otherwise receive little notice.
Still, FIRE PAC has endorsed some federal and statewide candidates outside that latest Texas slate, including congressional candidates and gubernatorial candidates in California and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
That has helped keep questions about Talarico alive.
Crockett responded Tuesday by reminding critics that she congratulated Talarico immediately after the primary.
“Y’all are corny!” she wrote, accusing the media of turning the dispute into tabloid fodder.
The morning after her loss, Crockett publicly said Democrats needed to rally around their nominees.
“This morning I called James and congratulated him on becoming the Senate nominee,” she wrote at the time, adding that Democrats “must remain united.”
Talarico himself has repeatedly resisted efforts to portray Crockett as refusing to support him.
“It is not Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett’s job to win this race,” Talarico said in July. “I’m the Democratic nominee. That’s my job.”
He went further: “I’m honored to have her support and her endorsement.”
Texas Democratic Party Chairman Kendall Scudder has also defended Crockett.
“Y’all need to get off Congresswoman Crockett’s case,” Scudder said recently. “She’s a great member of the team.”
Wild, evidently, has left that particular team-building seminar.
MY QUICK TAKE
This one requires a decoder ring.
Crockett endorsed Talarico.
Talarico says Crockett endorsed Talarico.
Crockett says she supports the Democratic ticket.
But Crockett isn’t campaigning with Talarico, and her PAC didn’t put Talarico on its latest list.
So the actual Democratic family argument is not over whether an endorsement exists.
It’s over the deluxe package.
Apparently there is “I endorse you,” and then there is “I endorse you, raise money for you, appear with you, put you on my PAC stationery and smile convincingly while doing it.”
Susan Wild seems to have skipped straight to the grievance department.
DBS WIRE SOURCES
- Fox News — Susan Wild unloads on Crockett over Talarico omission
- Washington Post — Crockett PAC leaves Talarico off new endorsement list
- San Antonio Current — Talarico says Crockett has endorsed and supported him
- Washington Sun — Crockett focuses on down-ballot endorsements
- Fox News — Background on the Crockett-Talarico primary
