General Discussion

Talarico declared on September 9th.

Crockett entered the race on December 8th, three full months later, and on the very last day of the filing deadline.

This Texan was already super excited about Talarico's campaign during those 3 months, liked what I was hearing from him, and already knew I was voting for him. When Crockett announced, I was dismayed. I like Jasmine Crockett! But my vote already belonged to Talarico, and with her entering the race at the last second, this meant only one of them would win, and one of them would lose their seat. I wish Jasmine would have picked a different seat to run for, but nor can I blame her for being ambitious. Politicians run for what they want to run for, understanding that losing some races is just part of the gig.

But to answer your question, yes, Talarico was in the race for 3 months and had a campaign lots of Texans were genuinely excited about at the point where Crockett declared on the date of the filing deadline.