The Democratic Bench: Wildcards, Vol. 1 — Jasmine Crockett

Filed by Jenny Braddock, Politics Editor, Reluctantly — May 23, 2025

Welcome to the first profile in our new subcategory of The Democratic Bench: Wildcards. In this series, we spotlight the long shots, firebrands, and future dark horses of the Democratic Party — the names that might sound outlandish today, much like Barack Obama did in 2005.

Our first entry is Jasmine Crockett, the firebrand U.S. Representative from Texas and Vice Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. She’s not a household name yet, and she’s not trying to be — but we think you’ll see why she’s already at or near the top of our Wildcards list.

Crockett wasn’t born into the Beltway. She was raised in St. Louis by a teacher-preacher father and a mother who worked for the U.S. Postal Service. While attending Rhodes College in Memphis, she and other Black students were targeted with racist hate mail and had their cars vandalized. When the university failed to act, Crockett turned to a Black female attorney from The Cochran Firm — one of the only people who took her seriously. That moment didn’t just push her toward law. It showed her what it looks like when the system shrugs, and someone decides to fight anyway. (source)

She earned her law degree from the University of Houston Law Center and began her legal career as a public defender in Bowie County, Texas. She later established her own law firm, focusing on civil rights and criminal defense, and represented numerous clients, including peaceful protesters during the Black Lives Matter movement.

She was sworn into the Texas House in 2021, then Congress in 2023 after winning her seat during Biden’s midterm election. Not exactly a time when Democrats were racking up wins in Texas, but Crockett didn’t wait for permission. She saw the opening, ran hard, and won.

The political class didn’t quite know what to make of her — too progressive for the donor class, too polished for the protest wing, and too direct for cable news. But Crockett didn’t come to Washington to blend in. She came to pick fights that matter and make sure the cameras are rolling when she lands a hit.

You may have caught her earlier this year, torching Elon Musk over union-busting and environmental negligence at Tesla’s Texas gigafactory — a now-legendary clash that started with Crockett calling out Musk’s “corporate fuckery” and escalated from there. When protesters showed up at the plant to demand labor protections and environmental oversight, Crockett defended them as “exactly the kind of democracy Musk’s wealth depends on — and fears.”

Pam Bondi, doing her usual cosplay as a concerned citizen, accused Crockett of inciting unrest. Crockett’s response? Pure gasoline:

“If being pro-union, pro-environment, and anti-billionaire bloat makes me dangerous, then Pam Bondi better bring more than a subpoena. I’m not scared of Elon Musk or his stans.”

She added, in a since-viral interview with Politico:
“I don’t care if you’ve got rockets or Teslas — if you can’t treat workers like humans or stop dumping waste, I’m going to come for you. That’s not radical. That’s literally my job.”

It was a moment — the kind that forces people to pick a side. And Crockett didn’t just make noise; she reframed the whole damn thing as democracy versus technofeudal cosplay.

Then there was the now-infamous Oversight Committee showdown with Marjorie Taylor Greene, who accused Crockett of wearing “fake eyelashes” in a petty personal jab mid-hearing. Without missing a beat, Crockett fired back:

“If someone on this committee then starts talking about somebody’s bleach-blonde, bad-built, butch body, that would not be engaging in personalities, correct?”

source

The moment lit up social media, made Fox News combust, and cemented Crockett’s reputation as someone who will not be bullied — and will make you regret trying.

And then she took it outside.

When reporters later asked her what she would say directly to Elon Musk, Crockett didn’t blink:

“Fuck off.”

source

Not exactly your standard Democratic Party messaging — and that’s the point.

Let’s be honest: she’s probably not a top-ticket contender today. She hasn’t chaired a committee, run a presidential campaign, or headlined a national policy initiative. What she has done is survive Texas politics as a progressive Black woman with a spine made of tempered steel. And now she’s here, in the big tent of the Democratic Party, asking why it keeps folding in on itself.

And she’s only 42 years old… she’s got time.

Is she electable? Probably not in 2028. Is she dangerous? Absolutely — and to the right people.

She speaks in the language of outrage and receipts, mixes courtroom discipline with millennial cadence, and knows exactly when to throw a punch that lands on Twitter and C-SPAN. And it’s not just performance — she’s smart, legally sharp, and experienced in real-world fights the rest of Congress mostly reads about.

For Democrats dreaming of flipping Texas, she’s a homegrown insurgent. For a party still paralyzed by messaging consultants and Senate decorum, she’s a test pilot for a bolder, brasher political future. And for every voter who’s felt unseen, she’s a reminder that some of the best weapons don’t come from central casting — they come from public defense, protest movements, and courts that don’t have air conditioning.

You could call it potential or you could call it premature. Call it whatever you want, just don’t say we didn’t warn you.

Filed from:
A folding chair in the back row of a Texas courtroom, where the real shit goes down before cable news catches up.

🔥 Wildcard Scorecard: Jasmine Crockett