Jasmine Crockett plans announcement ahead of filing deadline

The Dallas Democrat who now represents the 30th Congressional District said she will hold a special announcement in Dallas at 4:30 p.m. on Monday, 90 minutes before the state’s deadline for candidates to file their campaign paperwork.

The political dominoes started to fall into place for other North Texas Democrats, who are waiting to see if the majority of the U.S. Supreme Court upholds the 2025 Congressional maps after Justice Samuel Alito temporarily reinstated them last month.

A source familiar with the situation told CBS News Texas that if the Supreme Court upholds the 2025 maps, Democratic Congressman Marc Veasey of Fort Worth will run in the newly drawn 30th Congressional District.

The district remains mostly in Dallas County and now also includes an additional 200,000 people in Tarrant County. The source said if the Supreme Court upholds the 2021 Congressional maps, Veasey will remain in the 33rd Congressional District, which he has represented since 2013.

A variety of Democrats said Tuesday they believe Crockett is definitely running for the Senate.

Crockett told CBS News Texas last month that she would only run statewide for U.S. Senate if polling she commissioned showed she could win a general election by expanding the electorate and attracting new voters.

History has shown it is an uphill climb for any Democrat to win statewide in Texas because that hasn’t happened in more than 30 years. Before Crockett can run in a general election, she has to win the primary and beat her fellow Democrats: former Dallas Congressman Colin Allred, who ran statewide last year and attracted some Republicans in his bid against Sen. Ted Cruz, and State Rep. James Talarico, who raised a record amount of money after his announcement and generated national headlines.

Republicans are already expressing excitement for a likely Crockett Senate run because they believe she can’t win a general election.

Sen. John Cornyn is fighting off Attorney General Ken Paxton and Congressman Wesley Hunt of Houston in the GOP primary. The crowded primaries could likely end in run-off elections in late May.

Primary electability expected to be key in crowded race

Electability will likely be a key, if not the key issue, in the Democratic primary.

SMU Political Science Professor Matthew Wilson told CBS News Texas last week that Allred and Talarico will each make the argument that they can win a general election by attracting not only Independents but also Republicans.

Regarding the 30th Congressional District, other Democrats told CBS News Texas on Tuesday that they are also considering running in the primary. They include State Representative Venton Jones of Dallas and Dallas City Councilman Adam Bazaldua. While Congressman Veasey is from Fort Worth, he is also well known in Dallas because his current district also includes the city.

If the new Congressional maps are upheld, Democratic Congresswoman Julie Johnson of Farmers Branch has said she will run in the newly drawn 33rd Congressional District, which is only in Dallas County. It will include a majority of Latinos. Domingo Garcia, a past President of LULAC and former State representative and Dallas City Council Member, told CBS News Texas on Labor Day that he was setting up an exploratory committee to run for the newly drawn district.

GOP contenders emerge for the 32nd Congressional District

Johnson’s current seat is in the 32nd Congressional District, but under the new maps, that will become a Republican-majority district. There are a number of Republicans running for the seat or considering it. They include former Presidential candidate Ryan Binkley and Darrell Day, who ran for the seat last year.  Other names mentioned include Amy Carrasco and Paul Bodnar. Punchbowl News reported Monday that California Congressman Darrell Issa is also considering running for this North Texas Congressional seat after his San Diego district was redrawn by Democrats in that state.