State Rep. James Talarico won a come-from-behind victory over Rep. Jasmine Crockett in Texas’ Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, according to The Associated Press, a victory operatives in both parties believe could lead to a competitive general election in the state this November.

Talarico’s victory in the first marquee Democratic primary of the cycle will provide a sense of relief for party leaders, who were both eager to put forth a candidate with a puncher’s chance in the state and fearful a Crockett victory could be the first sign of Democrats entering a tea party-esque era where voters prioritized partisan bomb-throwing over electability.

Talarico will face the winner of a GOP primary runoff between incumbent Sen. John Cornyn and state Attorney General Ken Paxton in November. Paxton is widely seen as the weaker candidate in a general election.

Talarico declared victory early Wednesday morning. “This is a people-powered movement to take on this broken, corrupt political system,” he said. “This is truly a campaign of, by and for the people. We are not just trying to win an election, we are trying to fundamentally change our politics.”

In a statement, Crockett conceded the primary and endorsed Talarico: “With the primary behind us, Democrats must rally around our nominee. I’m committed to doing my part and will continue working to elect Democrats up and down the ballot.”

Crockett entered the primary on the last day possible, touting sky-high name recognition due to her status as a ubiquitous brawler on cable news and in the halls of Congress. But her campaign struggled to maintain momentum ― her failure to name a campaign manager baffled many in the party ― and Talarico managed to outspend her by a significant margin on television advertising.

Early returns showed Talarico performing strongly in rural and suburban areas, while also clearly defeating Crockett in Latino-heavy parts of the state. Crockett, meanwhile, was winning by huge margins among Black voters.

Talarico’s strength among Latinos, in particular, may have been a deciding factor in the race. He earned an endorsement from ultra-popular Spanish-language news influencer Carlos Eduardo Espina, and featured him in ads. He also campaigned with Bobby Pulido, a Tejano music star who is running for Congress in the Rio Grande Valley.

While Talarico is seen as a much stronger general-election candidate than Crockett, victory in Texas will remain an uphill battle for Democrats. The party has not won a statewide election there in 30 years, and President Donald Trump won the state by 13 percentage points in 2024.