The Texas Senate Primary Was a Preview of Creator Wars to Come

After the 2024 election, influencers were seen as an asset. A contentious race between Democrats James Talarico and Jasmine Crockett showed that they can also be a liability.

On Tuesday, James Talarico, a 36-year-old Presbyterian seminarian and state representative from Austin, Texas, defeated congresswoman Jasmine Crockett in what has become one of the most closely watched primary races so far this year.

While both candidates boast immense social media followings—Talarico with 1.6 million followers and Crockett with 2.6 million followers on TikTok—it wasn’t just the candidates who drove the conversation. It was the creators around them, who offer a preview of the digital fights to come throughout the midterms and, ultimately, the 2028 presidential race.

The Talarico and Crockett campaigns ran distinctly different digital strategies. Crockett has built her congressional brand on confrontation, going massively viral last year after calling out Marjorie Taylor Greene for ...