Democrat admits ‘of course’ Jasmine Crockett is a factor in him dropping out of Texas Senate race

Former Rep. Colin Allred, D-Texas, told CNN on Monday that Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett’s decision to run for Senate was “of course” a factor in his decision to drop out of the race.

Hours before Crockett was confirmed to have filed paperwork to run for the U.S. Senate, Allred announced that he would be dropping out of the Senate Democratic primary and instead run for a House seat in Texas’ newly-redrawn 33rd Congressional District.

CNN’s Dana Bash asked Allred whether earlier reports of Crockett’s interest in running for Senate were part of his decision.

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“Yeah, of course it is,” Allred said. “Listen, Jasmine’s a friend of mine, and we’ve served together, and I’ve known her since before we were both in elected office. But it was about the fact with three strong candidates running that we would certainly have a runoff.”

He added, “And I felt that that was not in the interest of folks who have come up to me to tell me their stories, who would open themselves up. And in many ways, to me, I’ve always thought about this and try to take my ego out of how I approach public service.”

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Bash asked Allred to elaborate on the conversation he had with Crockett before deciding to “let her take the wheel” in the Senate race.

“I wouldn’t say I view it that way,” Allred said. “It was a professional, friendly conversation. And you know, what I took from that was that I needed to try and decide what I thought would be best for the state, for the party, in a time and in a year where there is so much at stake.”

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Fox News Digital reached out to Allred and Crockett for comment.

Democratic state Rep. James Talarico confirmed in a statement Monday that his campaign will continue, saying he and his team “welcome” Crockett to the race.

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Crockett had teased a possible bid for weeks, saying she was “strongly” considering it after her district was redrawn by the Texas legislature.