State Sen. James Talarico leads Rep. Jasmine Crockett in the race to be the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate in Texas. As of 11:20 p.m. ET, with 67% of the vote in, DecisionDesk showed Talarico with 51.5% to Crockett’s 47.2%.

Whichever candidate wins the Democratic primary will face off against either Attorney General Ken Paxton or Sen. John Cornyn, who are themselves scheduled for a May 26 runoff election after neither candidate could crack the 50% barrier on Tuesday.

The Cook Political Report ranks the race as “Likely Republican” as of Tuesday, with the Kalishi prediction market showing that Republicans have the upper hand in the race.

Although the Republican primary has been messy, the Democrats have had a brutal fight in their own regard.

The campaign trail has been marked with several heated moments, including when Talarico claimed that the Trump administration was responsible for nixing his interview with Stephen Colbert from hitting the airwaves over Equal Time Rule concerns, The Daily Wire reported.

“This is the interview Donald Trump didn’t want you to see,” Talarico claimed. “His FCC refused to air my interview with Stephen Colbert. Trump is worried we’re about to flip Texas.” The interview was ultimately posted online and gave a major publicity boost to his campaign.

“You had a Democrat candidate who understood the way that the news media works, and he took advantage of all of your sort of prior conceptions to run a hoax, apparently for the purpose of raising money and getting clicks,” Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr fired back at a press conference last month after Talarico’s claims.

Former Rep. Colin Allred also played a role in the race, as he dropped out and instead pursued another bid for Congress, but he waded in over rumors that Talarico said privately that he “signed up to run against a mediocre Black man, not a formidable, intelligent Black woman,” according to Politico.

Allred posted a video slamming Talarico’s reported comments, saying, “Thank you for telling us who you really are and what you really think, and goodbye.”

“Don’t come for me unless I send for you, okay James? And keep my name out of your mouth while you’re at it,” he added, while also telling people to vote for Crockett instead. Allred lost to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) in the 2024 Senate race.

“In my praise of Congresswoman Crockett, I described Congressman Allred’s method of campaigning as mediocre – but his life and service are not. I would never attack him on the basis of race,” the state senator said in a statement to Politico at the time.

Crockett also garnered the endorsement of former Vice President Kamala Harris, who lost Texas to Trump in 2024, and lawmakers like Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD).

“Texas has the chance to send a fighter like Jasmine Crockett to the United States Senate,” Harris said in a call promoting Crockett’s campaign last week, according to the Texas Tribune. “Jasmine has the experience and record to hold Donald Trump and his billionaire cronies accountable.”

The United States struck a “terrorist” target in Ecuador on Tuesday, flexing its military might while simultaneously carrying out full-scale war against Iran.

On Tuesday, U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) announced that U.S. and Ecuadorian military forces launched joint operations against “Designated Terrorist Organizations in Ecuador,” saying the narco-terrorist group had “long inflicted terror, violence, and corruption on citizens throughout the hemisphere.”

This announcement marks a significant shift from training missions to active engagement. SOUTHCOM Commander Gen. Francis L. Donovan praised the “unwavering commitment” and “courage” of the Ecuadorian armed forces, characterizing the collaboration as a decisive strike against the “scourge of narco-terrorism” that has destabilized the hemisphere through violence and systemic corruption.

On March 3, Ecuadorian and U.S. military forces launched operations against Designated Terrorist Organizations in Ecuador. The operations are a powerful example of the commitment of partners in Latin America and the Caribbean to combat the scourge of narco-terrorism.

Together,… pic.twitter.com/MrkKZcrDbs

— U.S. Southern Command (@Southcom) March 4, 2026

The joint operation is the culmination of a strategic move by Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa. Since taking office in 2023 and securing a full four-year term in April 2025, the Miami-born, pro-Trump conservative has consistently campaigned for international intervention. Noboa argued that what began as local gangs had evolved into international narco-terrorist groups who were responsible for roughly 70% of the world’s cocaine transit.

To facilitate this military cooperation, the U.S. government took several formal steps throughout 2025: In September 2025, the United States officially designated major Ecuadorian gangs Los Choneros and Los Lobos as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs). These joined the February 2025 FTO designations of the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua and the Mexican Sinaloa and CJNG cartels, all of which maintain significant operations within Ecuador.

In July 2025, the leader of Los Choneros, José Adolfo Macías Villamar (alias “Fito”), was extradited to the United States.

There has been a staggering rise in violence in Ecuador. Despite Noboa’s “no-holds-barred” strategies—including declaring an “internal armed conflict” in 2024—Ecuador has struggled with the highest murder rate in Latin America. In 2024 alone, the country recorded nearly 7,000 homicides, forcing approximately 95,000 citizens to flee the country.

While previous leftist administrations, such as that of Rafael Correa, expelled the U.S. military in 2014, Noboa has actively courted a U.S. presence, even expressing interest in hosting a permanent U.S. military base.

For the United States, a stable, pro-American Ecuador is viewed as a critical bulwark against the influence of ideological groups opposed to the United States.