U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett says she will announce on Dec. 8 — the last day to file for the March primary — whether she will jump into the Democratic race for U.S. Senate or seek reelection to Congress.

Crockett, who in two terms representing Dallas in the U.S. House has emerged as a lightning rod for President Donald Trump and other national Republicans, said in an interview Monday that she plans to push aside any emotional desire to climb the political ladder and follow that data that emerges from private polling she has commissioned.

“I’ll have numbers back either by the end of this week or the beginning of next week, which is why I’ve given myself until Thanksgiving to make a decision,” said Crockett, 44. “Until then, I legitimately have no idea what I (will be) doing.”

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Her entry into the high-profile race would likely scramble the Democratic chessboard and give other competitors little time to decide whether to reconsider their plans.

The coming race for Senate has been the political focal point in Texas politics for several months. On the Democratic side, state Rep. James Talarico and former Congressman Colin Allred have been competing for both media attention and campaign donations in the hope of surviving the primary and advancing to November. Among the Republicans, four-term incumbent John Cornyn is battling a twin challenge from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt of Houston.

A poll in October by the University of Houston and Texas Southern University showed Crockett with a 6-point lead over Talarico of Austin and a 2-1 advantage over Allred, the Dallas Democrat who lost the 2024 Senate race to Republican Ted Cruz.

In back-to-back appearances in Austin on Saturday, both Democrats acknowledged hearing Crockett’s footsteps.

“I would welcome her entry to the race,” Talarico, a four-term state lawmaker, said at Tribfest, the annual political symposium sponsored by the Texas Tribune. “I think competition is good in politics. I think it’s good in sports. It’s good on business, and it’s good in elections.”

READ MORE: James Talarico launches U.S. Senate bid, calls for generational change

At the same gathering, but in a separate appearance, Allred was more circumspect.

“I’m focused on what I’m doing,” he said. “I like Jasmine. She’s a friend of mine. We served together, and I think she’s a fighter.”

Crockett, who graduated from the University of Houston Law Center in 2006, said she launched her poll in the hope of gaining a clear-eyed view on whether she or another Democrat could forge a path to victory in the coming general election. Democrats have not won a statewide race in Texas since 1994, and in only a handful of contests since then could the party get within single digits.

“I need to determine whether or not myself, James Talarico or Colin Allred has the ability to expand the electorate and bring in people that normally don’t vote,” she said. “If the current electorate continues to vote, then, well, we know what happens. It’s happened for the last 30 years. If it’s the same electorate, we will lose. That’s just what it is.”

If she decides to enter the Senate race, Crockett said she will lean into her self-described image as a fighter and an unapologetic progressive. Last week, she castigated the agreement, reached with the support of a handful of Democratic senators, to reopen the federal government without extending tax credits available under the Affordable Care Act.

READ MORE: Why someone not in the running leads the Democratic pack in the U.S. Senate race

“At the heart of this fight was one simple demand — extend the Affordable Care Act’s premium tax credits so families don’t see their premiums double overnight, and I am disgusted that people have forgotten or ignored our basic responsibilities,” she said.

And she said she will push to restore provisions of the 1965 Voting Rights Act that have been struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Crockett’s hard-charging style has caught the eye of Trump, who has lumped her in with with such progressives as U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Zohran Mamdani, the mayor-elect of New York City.

“She’s a very low IQ person,” Trump said of Crockett in September. “If we ever had to pass an aptitude test, that’s the one (who) should take one. I can’t even believe she’s a congressperson.”

That remark came one month after Crockett had called Trump “a piece of s—” during a panel discussion sponsored by the liberal-leaning organization, MoveOn.

Crockett’s growing national profile would make her a tempting target for Republicans if she becomes the Democratic nominee for Senate, said veteran GOP strategist Enrique Marquez,

“It would be a godsend for Republican fundraising,” he said. “The Republican electorate and the donor base would be electrified to try and defeat her.”

If she were elected, Crockett would become Texas’ first female Democrat to serve in the U.S. Senate, and the state’s first Black senator. Neither consideration will be a factor in her decision to run, she said. If the polling shows that either Allred or Talarico would fare better in a statewide race, Crockett said she would seek reelection to the U.S. House.

“I will 1,000% get behind (either). I care about a win. I don’t care about anything else.” she said. “I don’t care if that win is a man. I don’t care if that win is a white man. I don’t care if it’s a Black man. I don’t care what the win looks like, so long it is a W.”