Texas Democrats may think they’ve found their next “rising star,” but Republicans are already popping popcorn.

Far-left Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) has officially announced she is running for the U.S. Senate in 2026, setting herself up for what is almost certainly a brutal collision with political reality in deep-red Texas. Her decision means she will likely face either incumbent Sen. John Cornyn or Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is challenging Cornyn in the GOP primary. Either matchup heavily favors Republicans — and GOP strategists know it.

Crockett’s announcement was anything but subtle. She launched her Senate bid with a video posted to X that leaned into her growing notoriety on the left, even featuring former President Donald Trump openly mocking her. In the clip, Trump can be heard calling Crockett the Democrats’ “new star,” before delivering a devastating punchline: “Somebody said the other day, she’s one of the leaders of the party. I said you gotta be kidding.” He followed up by bluntly labeling her “a very low IQ person,” before joking that Democrats are now relying on her to save their collapsing party.

Instead of running from that reputation, Crockett seems to be embracing it.

At a campaign event in reliably blue Dallas, she unleashed the usual progressive talking points, accusing Trump and Republicans of “skimming Social Security,” “slashing Medicare,” and handing out tax breaks to billionaires — claims long debunked but endlessly recycled by the left. “I’m done with the senators sitting around doing nothing,” Crockett declared, positioning herself as a radical alternative to Texas’s conservative leadership.

Republicans, meanwhile, are thrilled.

Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA), never one to miss an opportunity for a perfectly timed jab, summed up GOP sentiment during an appearance on Fox News Channel’s My View with Lara Trump. “They need to tell her that the voices in her head are not real,” Kennedy quipped, instantly lighting up social media.

Kennedy didn’t stop there. He described Crockett as “wrong on every single issue” and predicted that her Senate run would end her political career altogether. By running statewide, Crockett would be giving up her House seat — meaning a loss in 2026 likely sends her packing from Congress entirely.

“I don’t want anybody to be in Congress who doesn’t want to be here,” Kennedy said, adding with unmistakable sarcasm, “So if people are unhappy, don’t let the door hit them in the butt on the way out.”

The Louisiana senator also made what many Texans already understand: Crockett’s far-left message simply doesn’t sell statewide. “The people of Texas will never embrace her message,” Kennedy said, before delivering the final blow. “You have the right in America to do dumb things if you want to.”

For Republicans, Crockett’s candidacy is shaping up to be a gift. Her history of viral outbursts, extreme rhetoric, and unapologetic alignment with the progressive fringe make her an easy target in a state that overwhelmingly favors border security, law and order, and fiscal sanity.

If Democrats were serious about competing in Texas, they might have chosen a moderate. Instead, they’ve chosen Jasmine Crockett — and the GOP couldn’t be happier.