Greg Abbott Spending Millions In Ads Featuring Jasmine Crockett To Galvanize Potential Texas Voters Who Dislike Her

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is spending millions of dollars in ads featuring Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett to galvanize potential Republican voters who dislike her, according to a new report.

Citing political advisers of Abbott, The New York Times detailed that the ads were in fact aimed at boosting turnout. They featured Crockett alongside prominent Democrats like Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Zohran Mamdani.

"You vote for us Republicans, or you get this: A.O.C. and Mamdani and Crockett," said Dave Carney, Abbott's top political strategist.

Republicans in the Senate race have long said they would rather face Crockett in the general election than her opponent, state Rep. James Talarico.

In fact, a report from last year noted that the party's campaign arm in the Senate executed a coordinated plan to have her run for the Upper House.

Republicans included Crockett in a July poll showing her as the leading Democrat should she run, NOTUS reported. "When we saw the results, we were like, 'OK, we got to disseminate this far and wide,'" a source familiar with the planning told the outlet.

NOTUS added that the National Republican Senatorial Committee then worked to amplify the poll and is now taking credit for launching Crockett to the top of the political conversation in the state.

Crockett said she was encouraged to throw her hat in the ring following favorable polling. "The more I saw the poll results, I couldn't ignore the trends that were clear," she said.

Now, after Crockett announced her run, Republicans are openly expressing joy at the scenario. "Am I hiding my glee? I'll try to wipe the smile off my face, I would say it's a gift," incumbent Republican Senator John Cornyn told Semafor.

President Donald Trump also said Crockett's candidacy is a "gift to Republicans," as her progressive and confrontational stance could give an edge to the GOP's candidate.

Polls have shown different scenarios regarding potential scenarios in the general election. Crockett recently posted an internal poll showing she would beat Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in an eventual election.

However, another survey showed that both Paxton and incumbent Senator John Cornyn would beat Crockett and Talarico regardless of the matchup.