Just when you thought Democrats might be on track to claw back the U.S. Senate next year, they decided it would be much more exciting to fling themselves head first into a cactus.

I’m talking about the Texas Democratic primary, where Rep. Jasmine Crockett, a progressive firebrand who just jumped into the race, is now the presumptive frontrunner. A favorite among hardcore Democrats looking for a fighter, Crockett is probably not the strongest candidate for winning a statewide race in the Lone Star State.

There’s even reporting that the Republicans’ Senate campaign arm “actively worked behind the scenes” to lure Crocket into the race, “believing she will be the easiest opponent to beat.”

It’s not hard to see why, considering some of Crockett’s past comments. She said Trump-supporting Latinos have a “slave mentality.” She referred to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who uses a wheelchair, as “Governor Hot Wheels.” And during a clash with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, she described her Republican colleague as having a “bleach-blond, bad-built, butch body,” which you have to admit, takes some creativity.

But why should anyone outside Texas care who their Democrats nominate? Because control of the U.S. Senate could hang in the balance.

Beyond oversight and legislating, the party that controls the Senate may very well determine whether President Donald Trump gets another lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court. (That thought’s going to haunt you, isn’t it?) If he — the only president ever to be impeached twice — is impeached a third time, the Senate will also determine whether he is removed from office.

Unlike the House, which Democrats are now expected to retake, flipping the Senate would require winning eight of the nine Senate seats that are considered competitive. To get there, Democrats must defend four of their own seats and flip four of five competitive Republican-held seats, one of which is Texas: a state Trump won by 14 points last year.

This feat is hard, but not impossible. It probably would require a hat trick: a Democratic blue wave, a vulnerable Republican nominee and a Democratic Party that resists its chronic urge to self-immolate.

Historically, that’s asking a lot.

For 30 years, Democrats have sworn that Texas is about to flip. And for 30 years, Texas has responded, “Bless your heart.”

But this time, all the stars are aligning. Recent elections suggest a blue wave is building.

Meanwhile, the leading Republican contender in Texas is state Atty. Gen. Ken Paxton, a scandal-plagued Trumper who has survived an indictment, an impeachment and a messy divorce. This is to say, Paxton would be potentially beatable in a general election. (Incumbent Sen. John Cornyn is currently polling third in the GOP primary because he’s considered too boring and too “establishment.”)

The final ingredient is a Democrat who can win in Texas. This is where things start falling apart.

After a “professional, friendly conversation” with Crockett, former Texas Rep. Colin Allred — a former NFL player and the kind of temperamentally moderate figure who might survive the political climate of Texas — chose to bow out of the Senate race rather than endure a “bruising primary.”

To be clear, Crockett does not have the field to herself. Her remaining rival is state Rep. James Talarico, a wunderkind whose national breakout came via the Joe Rogan podcast — the modern equivalent of a papal blessing for online clout, if not for winning statewide office in Texas.

Unlike Crockett (who has won only safe Democratic seats), Talarico flipped a state House seat in 2018.

Both Crockett and Talarico have the ability to go viral on the internet, generate excitement and raise millions online. And in today’s politics, those traits are prerequisites.

Still, it feels like Democrats might have sidelined their most viable general election nominee.

Yes, Allred lost badly in his 2024 bid for the Senate. But that was a presidential year with Trump on the ballot, and Allred still performed more than five points better than Kamala Harris. The 2026 environment will look more like that of 2018: lower turnout and no Trump at the top.

Republican Sen. Ted Cruz barely survived that cycle, only by a couple of points. And this time, Republicans may nominate someone even less popular. The opportunity is sitting right there, waving politely.

If only Democrats would nominate a viable candidate.

Another problem: Thanks to Republican redistricting, five House seats in Texas are becoming redder. One imagines that these House seats will be even harder for Democrats to hold on to if Crockett is on the ticket as the nominee for the U.S. Senate.

Which is why it borders on deranged that the state’s Democratic leaders are on the cusp of gambling the midterms on a candidate who may be electrifying to the progressive base but is stunningly out of step with the center-right voters who decide elections in Texas.

A year from now, don’t be surprised if pundits look back at this race and say that this entirely preventable implosion was the moment Democrats lost their shot at taking back control of both houses of Congress in 2026.

Matt K. Lewis is the author of “Filthy Rich Politicians” and “Too Dumb to Fail.” He wrote this column for the Los Angeles Times.

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People are talking about America’s “K-shaped economy,” so named because charts show different sectors’ fortunes diverging like the two arms of that letter. Recently, for example, data services firm ADP reported 32,000 lost U.S. jobs in November — a sharp reversal from October’s 47,000 gain, but not unexpected. But within that data, smaller firms employing from 1 to 49 workers laid off 120,000 while larger employers added workers.

No, this is not the time to say the economy is “healthy” or “unhealthy.” There are always strong and weak points, but right now, this is especially true.

Times are good for parts of the U.S. economy. Really good, in fact. That’s the upward part of the K.

These healthier areas may be counted on one hand, but they’re big ones: health care, education, information, and commercial investment (which should be read as “data center construction,” a key topic to be discussed later). A huge number of people are experiencing Gatsby-like portfolio gains from a bull market.

In fact, 2024 data analyzed by the Swiss bank UBS show that the U.S. has almost 24 million millionaires, with 1,000 joining those ranks every day. Yes, the K-economy’s upper leg has a lot of power supporting it, and that helps explain strong retail sales.

Oh, but there is always something offsetting, isn’t there? Our economy’s lower leg is sinking.

For example, even with record-level tariffs in place to give room for more hiring, there is no growth overall in manufacturing employment or production and very little in construction. We do see job gains in auto batteries, engineered wood products, and parts of the auto industry. Still, Americans who work in industries like these are concerned about keeping jobs, lost purchasing power, and affordability at the supermarket. They are pessimistic about prosperity’s prospects.

Age and experience play a role, too. New college grads are struggling to find jobs as AI and automation change the labor market. There are 42 million young adults wrestling with $1.8 trillion in student debt that under Trump administration rules must be paid or offset by work and service.

All of this and more helps explain the limping lower leg, and it didn’t just begin. ADP (currently the most dependable labor market data source with the Bureau of Labor Statistics still catching up from the government shutdown) has reported falling employment growth numbers since July.

Surprisingly, when the two legs are averaged together, chances are good that the government will report better than 4.0% growth in real GDP for the third quarter. That’s a strong result, but how can it be?

How can a K-shaped economy perform so well when hiring is practically dead in the water, industrial production gains are practically zero and health and educational services are two of America’s hottest sectors? We can hardly achieve lasting growth and prosperity on the backs of taxpayer-subsidized services.

The good news is that we may not have to try. That’s because of the K-economy’s big GDP producer: massive data center growth and investment in power plants to keep the centers running.

Indeed, the impact is so large that it has pushed consumption spending out of first place in explaining GDP growth. A recent study by Harvard economist Jason Furman found that excluding spending on technology-related infrastructure, real GDP growth in 2025’s first half would have been just 0.1% instead of the 2.2% ultimately reported by the Commerce Department. For the third quarter, the Atlanta Fed’s “GDPNow” estimate, which is revised almost daily, is calling for 3.9% real growth.

We have a mixed economy, for sure. Hopefully, our healthiest sector can carry much of the load until a new information revolution pays off in more ways and other sectors can find their footing again. But with such uncertainty, it’s not a good time to say “prosperity is just around the corner” for everyone.

Bruce Yandle is a distinguished senior fellow with the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, dean emeritus of the Clemson College of Business and Behavioral Sciences, a former executive director of the Federal Trade Commission, and a former senior economist on the President’s Council on Wage and Price Stability.

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Today is Friday, Dec. 19, the 353rd day of 2025. There are 12 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Dec. 19, 2008, citing imminent danger to the national economy, President George W. Bush ordered a $17.4 billion emergency bailout of the U.S. auto industry.

Also on this date:

In 1777, during the American Revolutionary War, Gen. George Washington led his army of more than 12,000 soldiers to Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, to camp for the winter.

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In 1907, 239 workers died in an explosion at the Darr coal mine near Van Meter, Pennsylvania.

In 1960, fire broke out on the hangar deck of the nearly completed aircraft carrier USS Constellation at the New York Naval Shipyard, killing 50 civilian workers.

In 1972, Apollo 17 splashed down in the Pacific, concluding the Apollo program of crewed lunar landings.

In 1998, President Bill Clinton was impeached by the U.S. House of Representatives for perjury and obstruction of justice. (He was subsequently acquitted by the Senate.)

In 2011, North Korea announced the death two days earlier of leader Kim Jong Il; North Koreans marched by the thousands to mourn while state media proclaimed his youngest son, Kim Jong Un, as the nation’s new leader.

In 2016, a truck rammed into a crowded Christmas market in central Berlin, killing 12 people in an attack claimed by the Islamic State. (The suspected attacker was killed in a police shootout four days later.)

In 2023, a strong earthquake rocked a mountainous region of northwestern China, killing 131 people, reducing homes to rubble and leaving residents outside in below-freezing winter weather.

Today’s Birthdays:

Actor Tim Reid is 81.
Singer Janie Fricke is 78.
Actor Jennifer Beals is 62.
Basketball Hall of Famer Arvydas Sabonis is 61.
Olympic skiing gold medalist Alberto Tomba is 59.
Actor Kristy Swanson is 56.
Model Tyson Beckford is 55.
Actor Alyssa Milano is 53.
Football Hall of Famer Warren Sapp is 53.
Actor Jake Gyllenhaal (JIH’-lihn-hahl) is 45.
Actor Annie Murphy is 39.
Journalist Ronan Farrow is 38.

“As Washington commits to callous austerity, Mayor-elect Mamdani must devote himself to strengthening New York’s safety nets and prioritizing domestic violence survivors in all housing and homelessness response plans, who are often left out.”

One of New Destiny Housing’s buildings. (Photo by Zeny Gatdula)

On a historic election day, New Yorkers turned out in droves to choose a new leader for our city—Zohran Mamdani will take office on Jan. 1 after running a campaign that was laser-focused on addressing the affordability and housing crisis that has plagued New York City for years. For domestic violence survivors like me, these issues are especially urgent.

Domestic violence is the number one reason for family homelessness in New York City, and financial abuse, where our credit is ruined or access to income is blocked by our abusers, often leaves us at a terrible disadvantage when trying to find a safe home that we can escape to quickly and then afford.

With the sudden disinvestment of proven, life-saving housing assistance programs by the federal government, and the very real threat of further cuts, many of us may be left without the means to pay our rent. As Washington commits to callous austerity, Mayor-elect Mamdani must devote himself to strengthening New York’s safety nets and prioritizing domestic violence survivors in all housing and homelessness response plans, who are often left out.

The first and most crucial step Mamdani must take as mayor is fixing and investing in CityFHEPS, the city’s rental subsidy program. Any cuts from Washington will fall squarely on federal rental assistance programs, as they’ve already done with the Emergency Housing Vouchers (EHV), which were abruptly defunded by the federal government earlier this year and could cause nearly 8,000 New Yorkers to lose their housing.

The New York City Housing Authority has found a solution to help a number of these households, but thousands of New Yorkers continue to face this frightening countdown to the end of their rental assistance. This is not something that we can allow—I personally know many survivors who have only been able to find a permanent home thanks to an EHV. If families lose access to this funding, many survivors will be forced back to shelter, onto the street, or even back with our abusers, further deepening the homelessness crisis in our city and putting survivors in harm’s way.

CityFHEPS offers a promising solution to this impending problem, but only if it is fixed. The City Council has long realized this, having voted to allow people living outside of shelters to access CityFHEPS vouchers and overriding Mayor Adams’ veto to protect program participants from rent increases. Mayor-elect Mamdani now has a prime opportunity to reverse Adams’ policy and usher in a voucher program that better works for New Yorkers.

By removing eligibility hurdles, keeping unit-hold incentives, and extending shopping letter duration, which routinely cut survivors off from housing, frustrate landlords holding apartments, and hold New Yorkers in shelter months longer than necessary, the future mayor can demonstrate his commitment to ensuring that every New Yorker has a safe home.

But CityFHEPS isn’t the only way to help survivors find housing. New York also needs to increase the supply of supportive housing. While Mamdani committed to building more housing and making it more affordable, he did not have plans specifically focused on supportive housing, which provides services alongside affordable housing to New Yorkers in need of additional support to find stability. This is an incredibly effective tool that has helped many survivors—including me—get back on their feet.

Last year, Mayor Adams expanded New York City’s supportive housing program, NYC 15/15, to include domestic violence survivors with children. It was a long overdue first step to join the state in recognizing that some survivors need long-term support for themselves and their children to recover from the trauma. But that expansion didn’t cover survivors without kids. I urge the mayor-elect to commit to expanding NYC 15/15 supportive housing for single survivors too, and continue to expand investment in supportive housing overall to better meet the needs of the most vulnerable New Yorkers.

In a country where nearly one in three women, and one in 10 men, have experienced some form of domestic violence, we are a constituency that cannot be ignored. As Washington shirks its duties to domestic violence survivors and everyone else that benefits from housing assistance programs, Mayor-elect Mamdani has a chance to be a true housing champion and a lifesaver for the thousands of domestic violence survivors who need to escape but can’t find an affordable place to live.

Now is the time for him to demonstrate he truly cares about survivors—supporting safe homes for us is the way to do it.

Nicole Campbell is a domestic violence survivor, supportive housing tenant, and a member of New Destiny Housing’s Survivor Voices Project.

The post Opinion: Protecting Domestic Violence Survivors Means Investing in Their Housing appeared first on City Limits.