Jasmine Felicia Crockett, elected to the United States House of Representatives on November 8, 2022, was born on March 29, 1981, in St. Louis, Missouri. Crockett attended Rhodes College, a private liberal arts school in Memphis, Tennessee. While there, she and several other Black Rhodes students were victims of a hate crime which led her to pursue a career in social justice. She graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Business and continued her education at the University of Houston Law Center, where she earned a Juris Doctor degree, allowing her to practice law.
After graduation, Crockett initially worked as a civil rights attorney in Texas. She later worked as a public defender in Bowie County, Texas before establishing Crockett Law Firm, PLLC. The firm took on several pro bono cases of Black Lives Matter advocates.
In 2020 Crockett turned her attention to politics and announced she would challenge the incumbent Democrat representing the 100th District in the Texas Legislature. She narrowly won the primary election but easily defeated her Republican challenger in the 2020 general election. Crockett served one term in the Texas Legislature, where she was one of 56 Democratic lawmakers who left the state in an effort to block the passage of restrictive voting legislation.
In 2022 the incumbent Congressional Representative for the 30th Congressional District of Texas, Eddie Bernice Johnson, announced she would not seek reelection. A few days later, Crockett announced her candidacy to represent the 30th, a district that encompasses the heart of the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan complex. It covers large parts of Dallas and Tarrant Counties and, as such, is one of the most ethnically and racially diverse congressional districts in Texas and the country.
Crockett won the Democratic Party nomination in the state’s primary run-off and then the General Election, garnering nearly 75% of the votes. Crockett assumed office on January 3, 2023.
Crockett’s other first-term colleagues recently chose her as the representative between the House Democratic leadership and the newly elected Democratic members of the United States House of Representatives. She is also a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.
During the election, Crockett promised to “expand access to healthcare, voting rights, economic opportunity, and dignity for all.” She hopes to also expand social safety net programs and protect civil liberties and immigrant rights. One issue that may haunt her in the future, however, is the estimated $2.5 million in campaign donations she received from controversial crypto-currency SuperPACs.
Crockett, who is single, is an active member of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.