SAN ANTONIO – With early voting starting on Feb. 17, Democratic Texas Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett is traveling across the Lone Star State to reach voters directly.
On Sunday, that meant meeting them at churches and the restaurant Tony G’s on San Antonio’s East side.
“I’ve got to make sure that everyone in the state of Texas knows that I am going to work for this so I can work for them,” Crockett said.
She currently represents the 30th Congressional District of Texas, which includes portions of Dallas and Tarrant Counties.
During her first senate campaign stop in the Alamo City, Crockett addressed congregations and patrons touting her legal credentials, her work in the Texas Legislature, and her current work on Capitol Hill. In Washington, Crockett serves on the subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement, which is under the United States House Committee on the Judiciary.
“As a licensed attorney who practices civil rights law, I have always stood for the people that have been constantly told they don’t have (a) voice that count(s),” she said,
Also pushing his public service record is Texas State Representative James Talarico, who spoke with KSAT this past week.
“I passed the biggest early childhood bill in recent memory, and I passed a major housing bill that’s going to make the dream of home ownership a reality for more Texans,” Talarico said.
Talarico and Crockett, along with Ahmad R. Hassan, are on the ballot for the March 3 Democratic primary election. The winner will face off against the winner of the Republican primary.
U.S. Senator John Cornyn is the incumbent, having held the position since 2002, and is facing seven Republican challengers, including current Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and U.S. Representative Wesley Hunt for Texas Congressional District 38.
Talarico was a sixth-grade teacher at Rhodes Middle School before becoming a lawmaker.
He said he has fought for his students and Texans as a whole in Austin, and he plans to do the same in Washington.
“I’ve fought for workers’ rights and for better wages and better working conditions,” he said. “And that’s exactly what I will do as the next U.S. senator from Texas.”
Crockett said she is already in D.C., but she needs San Antonio’s support to work in the Senate to advance necessities for the Alamo City and Texas at large, such as helping pass the U.S. House’s bill to extend the Affordable Care Act’s enhanced subsidies, which passed this past Thursday.
“There are a lot of people about to be kicked off their Medicaid and Medicare; (to) the tune of one trillion dollars is going to be deleted from Medicare and Medicaid,” she said.
She explained that behind Florida, Texas has the highest enrollment in the ACA, and those Texans rely on those tax subsidies.
As it stands now, the bill reportedly lacks the 60 votes needed to pass in the Senate.
Both candidates stress that to become the next senator from Texas, they need San Antonians to show up at the polls and vote.
Election Day is Nov. 3.