A dust-up between a rising Texas Democrat and two well-known podcast hosts has turned into a broader argument about race, risk-taking, and who gets deemed “electable” in modern politics.
According to Fox News, Rep. Jasmine Crockett, a Democrat from Texas, pushed back after comments made by Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang on their “Las Culturistas” podcast sparked backlash and renewed scrutiny of her U.S. Senate campaign.
During the episode, Rogers urged listeners not to donate to Crockett’s bid, criticizing politicians who, in his view, “make things about themselves.” Yang echoed the sentiment at the time. Both men apologized days later.
Crockett said the remarks revealed more than casual political analysis.
“I really do think that the host said the quiet part out loud, which basically was: If a White man couldn’t do it, then why would a Black woman even have the audacity to think that she could?” Crockett said in a January interview, according to the Washington Post. “I don’t know however many White men, and they’ve all lost. The only thing we know for sure is that a White man can lose.”
The comments set off criticism online, with some accusing the podcast hosts of dismissing Crockett before her campaign had a chance to fully unfold. Rogers, in explaining his skepticism, pointed to former Rep. Beto O’Rourke’s 2018 Senate race, which ended in a narrow loss.
“She’s not going to win a Senate seat in Texas, you guys,” Rogers said. “Like, if Beto O’Rourke couldn’t do it, Jasmine Crockett is not going to do it.”
Crockett rejected that argument, saying her campaign is designed to expand the electorate rather than chase the same voters who have fallen short for Democrats in the past.
“I get that I’m not a traditional candidate. And that’s exactly why I’m going to win,” Crockett said, according to the Post.
She has compared her run to O’Rourke’s effort while emphasizing that close losses still offer lessons. O’Rourke, who lost by about three percentage points, told the Post that the primary race had no guaranteed outcome. Crockett is competing against state Rep. James Talarico.
“I don’t know that I buy the conventional wisdom about either of them,” O’Rourke said.
Crockett said doubts from fellow Democrats have been more frustrating than criticism from Republicans.
“My theory of the case is this: If you believe we’re going to lose anyway, then what difference does it make if it’s me or anybody else?” she said, according to the Post. “If you think it’s a losing cause, then who cares? But at least you could say we tried something new, and we learned something from this experience.”
She added, “Yeah, people are afraid. And it’s not afraid of me losing. They are afraid of me winning, actually. That’s what I hear.”
Texas has not elected a Democratic senator since 1988, when Lloyd Bentsen won re-election.
Watch the videos below:
