Jasmine Crockett reveals advice she gave to Harris campaign that she believes could have made a difference

U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett recently opened up about strategy advice she gave to Kamala Harris‘s 2024 presidential campaign, which was ultimately not followed through on.

During a recent podcast interview, the Texas Democratic congresswoman shared that while serving as a campaign surrogate for Harris, she was often sent to “urban” areas to mobilize voters. However, Crockett, who represents Dallas, felt she was more needed in rural America, where voters favor Donald Trump and the Republican Party.

“I said, ‘Stop sending me to all the urban centers. Yes, I can do that, yes, but you got plenty of surrogates that can go do that. You need to send me to rural America.’ And they were looking like, ‘Huh?’” Crockett shared with “Howdy Politics” host Kat Vargas.

While Crockett, an outspoken law school-educated Black woman, may have seemed like the last person to send to rural America, Crockett believed that she was actually best suited for it.

She explained: “I’m like, ‘Listen, I was in East Texas. I live there. I know the struggles. I know what it’s like when the paper mill is threatened with shutting down, or Cooper Tire may shutter. I know the struggles and the angst. I know how these small-town economies work. I get it because I lived it. I still have property out there…I am like…’Just try me. Like, trust me on this.’”

Sharing her engagements with rural Americans in the past, Crockett said, “These are people that potentially only knew what Fox News put out there of me. But once they realized that I cared about what they care about, and that I was fighting harder to do right by them, these people had no problems with me.”

The Harris campaign ultimately didn’t take Crockett up on her strategy until it was too late. Election Day was near, and the congresswoman said she didn’t have “enough time” for the travels.

“You’re not flying into the airport to get to the small town. I mean, you got to drive. You got to, you know, do some other things,” she said.

Reflecting on the lessons learned from the 2024 campaign, Crockett said Democrats have to “engage in real conversations” with Americans, most especially those in rural America who may think they don’t agree with the party’s agenda.

“I shouldn’t change who I am, because I am right on this. I know that the rural hospitals are shutting down, and I know it’s not because of policies that I’m pushing. I know that it’s the policies of the people that they have elected that are literally reducing their life expectancy, and I think it’s wrong,” said Crockett.

She continued, “I know that when it came to rural broadband being…expanded, it was Democrats and the Infrastructure Act that were fighting to expand broadband…which has made farming more efficient for people…But it also makes sure that you have access to telehealth.”

The congresswoman added, “I just feel like it’s a matter of going in and telling the real stories of the real struggles that I understand…I don’t think that it’s a matter of trying to pretend that I’m going to be a Republican.”