MS NOW's Daniels: Lots of Dem Racism and Sexism Against Crockett In Texas Primary

Eugene Robinson Eugene Daniels The Weekend 8-3o-26

Accusing Republicans of racism, sexism, and misogyny is the liberal media's stock in trade. But there was a stunning variation on that on Sunday's episode of MS NOW's The Weekend.

Explaining Jasmine Crockett's refusal to campaign for James Talarico, co-host Eugene Daniels said the Texas Democratic Senate primary was “really nasty,” and that there was  "a lot of racism, a lot of sexism, a lot of misogyny, a lot of ‘misogynoir,’ which is a connection of both of those things, against her.”

Against her. Against Crockett. Not against Talarico. Against the black woman who lost a Democratic primary and will not now campaign for the Democrat who won it.

He was not talking about Ken Paxton. He was not talking about Republicans in the general election. He was talking about Democrats. Talarico's team suggested he would have better appeal to independents and Republicans, that he would be more electable in the fall. Back in March, Crockett's supporters were complaining to Politico that "Electability is rooted in racism." So it might be natural that they'd like to see Mr. Electable lose. 

Jonathan Capehart teed it up with a CNN clip of Crockett telling Laura Coates she will “be campaigning down ballot” rather than appear with Talarico, who beat her in March. Capehart asked why she wouldn’t do both. Jackie Alemany put it more bluntly: is this political calculus, or is it personal?

Daniels didn't explicitly point the finger at the Talarico campaign. He didn’t have to. The segment was about why Crockett will not share a stage with the man who defeated her. Racism and misogyny “against her” are not a story about her fans. They are a story about the people who were trying to stop her. That was Talarico's Democratic campaign.

So the network that routinely pins racism and sexism on Republicans just told viewers that a Democratic primary was soaked in racism and misogyny directed at Crockett — and that this is why the party’s biggest draw in Texas is sitting out a Senate race Democrats say they desperately need.

Nobody on the set seemed to clock the implication. Capehart said he didn’t even know where to go after that. He might start with the Democrats Daniels just called out.
 

Here's the transcript. 

MS NOW 
The Weekend 
8/30/26 
7:25 am EDT 

JONATHAN CAPEHART: There's someone who has conspicuously not been anywhere near James Talarico. Let's play this interview from Thursday on CNN that Laura Coates did with Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett. Just watch this. 

LAURA COATES: You are often, I mean, an energy magnet when it comes to voters. We've seen the turnout that you can produce. Talarico might very well need that magnetism. Will you campaign with him? 

JASMINE CROCKETT: I will be campaigning down ballot. I think that making sure that people that maybe are getting overshadowed because it seems like it's only about one big race, I think amplifying them, making sure that I can raise their profiles and introducing them to people. That'll give something more to voters to make them say, you know what? It may be raining outside, but I gotta go get there because I gotta go get there for this person and this person, plus I don't like Trump. 

CAPEHART: So, Aaron, this has been a question I have just been wondering, where is Congresswoman Crockett? I mean, to Laura Coates' point, she is a huge draw. And if she were to campaign with James Talarico, that could only help him. Why do you think she's — I understand focusing on down ballot, but you can do both things. 

AARON PARNAS: Of course you can, and I do think that her campaigning with him would help him, of course, but I also think her campaigning down ballot could turn out voters that wouldn't traditionally turn out for James, for example, right? 

. . . 

JACKIE ALEMANY: Can I ask, can I put you [Eugene Daniels] on the spot for a second? Because you've covered Congresswoman Crockett and Texas a lot, and I do have that curiosity that Jonathan has that [turning to Parnas] has not been satisfied by your answer, unfortunately. 

But what is she doing here? Does she think that this is the right political calculus, that her voters actually in earnest don't like Talarico, and she feels like the best way to appeal to them and turn them out is to campaign for everyone else and not for him? 

Is that what's going on here, or is this personal? 

EUGENE DANIELS: There's a couple of things. One, I would say Paxton denies all the allegations. We, you know, stand by that. Yeah, okay. 'Cause, you know, we ain't getting sued around here. 

But I think, you know, when I talk to folks around her, talk to folks around him, and just in Texas in general, they see a couple of things. 

They see a primary that was really nasty, and I think what was really interesting about this primary in particular, in Texas, was that the nastiness online bled into the nastiness on the ground. Usually it's like, you know, the internet is not real life. Which I believe typically when it comes to politics, like a lot of people yelling about everything. But somehow in Texas, it became a part of the actual campaign on the ground. That's according to the Texas Democrats. 

And so there was some racism online, a lot of racism, a lot of sexism, a lot of misogyny, a lot of "misogynoir," which is a connection of both of those things, against her. And so, that bled into all of it. And I think there are frustrations on the Crockett side of things, like her followers especially. It's very interesting. 

ALEMANY: Thank you. 

DANIELS: Did I get that? 

ALEMANY: That was helpful. 

DANIELS: Thank you. I'm scared of Jackie. 

ALEMANY: I got caught in the crosshairs of the "Crockettes" [Crockett supporters] online, and it's fierce. Go ahead, Jonathan. 

CAPEHART: Oh, I don't even know where to go after this.