← The Tara Palmeri Show
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- [00:00]
Tara Palmeri
This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. You chose to hit play on this podcast today. Smart choice. Make another smart choice with Auto Quote.
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Nomiki Konst
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Tara Palmeri
Insurance companies all at once.
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Nomiki Konst
Try it@progressive.com Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and.
- [00:21]
Tara Palmeri
Affiliates not available in all states or situations. Prices vary based on how you buy foreign. Welcome back to the Tara Palmieri Show. Today we're digging into one of the most fascinating and risky plays Democrats have made this cycle. Jasmine Crockett. She's jumping into the Senate race. You know her. She's another social media sensation known for her pithy clapbacks and TikTok videos. But here's the thing. Texas hasn't elected a Democrat statewide in 30 years, but every cycle, the party convinces itself that this is the year. But Crockett has star power, name recognition and a massive online presence. But she also has a liberal record. Republicans are already turning into attack ads.
- [01:09]
Political Ad Narrator
Meet Jasmine Crockett, the newest Lone Star Loon and one of the most extreme members of Congress Texas has ever sent to Washington.
- [01:17]
Tara Palmeri
So is she the bold choice Democrats need in a state that's shifting under their feet or candidate who could actually make the race easier for Republicans? To break this down, I'm joined by Democratic consultant Nomiki Kant. She is an activist, a commentator, and someone who understands movement politics and party inside baseball better than most. Take a listen here. Nomiki, thanks so much for coming to the show. I'm so happy you're here because this is probably the talk of the Democratic talk of Democratic circles right now. What are they doing in Texas? Have they just thrown it away to Republicans? Which also just brings me to the thought that I've always had that it is a bit of a white whale for Democrats. They'll sink $100 million in a Senate race every single cycle into Texas. Colin Allred, Beto o', Rourke, so many of them, and yet they haven't won statewide in 30 years. But Jasmine Crockett, the congresswoman, very outspoken. She's got, you know, she's got a flair to her. But, but her entry into the race for some reason has really picked up, you know, some consternation within the party. I'm just wondering why is this election different or is this just like another expensive mirage?
- [02:41]
Nomiki Konst
Another expensive mirage that is like the subtext of the Democratic Party. I, I usually call the industrial complex, the political industrial complex, where, you know, you'll raise $2 billion just to hand out to consultants who do very bad ads and then don't organize on the ground. Like imagine if we took all that money and we, like put it into a party full time in Texas to organize and win back the legislatures and legislature and, you know, not have to deal with this redistricting mess. That probably would be a better solution than throwing that much money into another Senate race.
- [03:14]
Tara Palmeri
Democrats just don't do the ground up politicking the way that Republicans do. They seem to pay for it over and over and over again. They just don't invest in the infrastructure.
- [03:22]
Nomiki Konst
They don't. And it's not a new lesson. I mean, we learned after Obama left that we had lost the Democrats had lost 1200 seats across the country because when Obama won, they consolidated the party with ofa, the dnc and made it a national party rather than continuing to invest in state parties and subgroups like Young Democrats. Which is one of my first jobs was organizing in Arizona for young Democrats. And we won that year. We actually won because we organized college camp campuses in Tempe and then won that seat here in Mitchell at the time. We don't do that anymore and we're paying the consequences. We Learned this after 2016. I was on this commission that investigated the party and why we lost in 2016. And we issued a scathing report saying we have to start taking that money, investing it 247 across the country in every single community from school board to dog catcher, all the way up, so that we don't get in this situation. But there's just too many moneyed players who have interests, who are in key DNC membership positions, leadership positions that call the shots. And I think Ken Martin wants to do that as a former head of the state party chairs and a state party chair himself. But he's fighting a really powerful group of people who just really need their like eighth home.
- [04:44]
Tara Palmeri
Really well said. They do need that eighth home. Political consultants make a lot of money. And if you as a reporter report on any of that, expect to get blocked from victory parties as what happened to me. But that was on the Republican side when I wrote about some of the money that people around Donald Trump were making and suddenly I was blocked from his victory party. But yeah, no, it's a very touchy subject in Washington. And it's how the swamp exists, it's how the Greece, it's how Washington works. And so, yeah, they put the money where they think they're going to make the most. They make a lot of money in these Texas seats. It's basically charity, right, for them to work on ground up legislature and the type of stuff that Maybe you, like you said, would prevent the kind of redistricting that we saw in Texas. So here's the thing. Democrats might actually have a path to flipping the seat. And I think that's probably why they're freaking out a little bit about Jasmine Crockett, who could win the primary, who has a very good chance of winning the primary because of Ken Paxton, who is very problematic. He is the, he's the Attorney General in Texas who was in impeach. He, he was brought in for corruption charges. He was indicted. I mean, this guy is just crawling with scandals. His wife hates him. I mean, for biblical reasons, which I still can't get over the reasons of their divorce, just biblical reasons is the best excuse I've ever heard. But you know, there, there's a chance, okay. A few months ago, last year, last spring, Paxton was beating the Senator Cornyn, who is this incumbent sitting Republican senator, by 18 points in a primary. And that was crazy. And the Senate Leadership Fund was freaking out about it. But the polling seems to have really narrowed and they're about, you know, within striking distance, a point 3 points from each other. But the polls also showed that a Democrat, a generic Democrat like Colin Allrod, who ran in the last election, who was planning to run until he dropped out of the race for Crockett's entry this past week, he could have beaten Paxton by a point or two in the race, which would have been huge for Democrats. And we are expecting a blue wave. So I think that's partially why it's like it's almost within reach. They can feel it. Trump's underwater in Texas by nine points right now about over the economy. It's like, it's almost like you can taste it. Right? Is that what it is?
- [07:17]
Nomiki Konst
I mean, it's. I wonder if there was some sort of internal polling that or they expected something to drop. I mean, Allred's run before. They. I'm sure they have an oppo file that they've looked at. He obviously has really strong name id. He's gonna go run for that other seat. But it was a strange choice. And Crockett, maybe it was a fundraising situation that I'm not aware of. I think Talarico is also very strong and I think he up against a generic Republican, Cornyn or Paxton, very strong. Cuz he is a pastor and he's like a progressive populist pastor who is very well spoken. So one thing I know for sure is that the debate, it also follows.
- [08:05]
Tara Palmeri
Only fan models and boring stars. But we'll talk about that.
- [08:08]
Nomiki Konst
Listen, I mean, there's like, bots.
- [08:11]
Tara Palmeri
Talk about that all later. Don't worry, we'll get into it.
- [08:14]
Nomiki Konst
I don't judge. You follow whoever you want. I'm a progressive. But, you know, Crockett, you know, she's got to worry about. She has to worry about progressives and being in a primary with a progressive and in the environment that we're in right now, being somebody who's been on very pro Israel state of Israel on AIPAC and has been on trips to Israel where she was in photos with the idf. Like, IDF put out photos with her. That stuff is blowing up right now on the Internet. And it's, you know, you want to have a really strong launch. You want to be able to appeal to progressives.
- [08:50]
Tara Palmeri
She.
- [08:50]
Nomiki Konst
She's obviously very sassy and has been able to raise her name ID quite a bit in the last couple of years. And this, of course, helps. But I don't know if it was the best move for her politically. But it could just be a wave. I mean, she might beat Talarico and she might be a Republican, and then we'll have, you know, a new senator who's going to bring that sass to the Senate. I don't know. I mean, it's, it's. It was a choice, you know. Curious how it happened behind the scenes.
- [09:26]
Tara Palmeri
Yeah, me too, actually. So Crockett's net favorable ratings are 33 to 40. So she's negative seven in terms of her unfavorables. And all reds were 31 to 28 and he's plus three. But here's my feeling about Colin Allred. We've had him on the show. Um, he is, you know, he's a. He's a nice guy, but I don't know, the stench of loss isn't great when you're running again. And I just think people want a winner. I never found him to be, like, particularly charismatic or a great communicator for the party. Even on the show, I was like, would I even want to watch this myself? And like, we are in the age of Trump. And in the age of Trump, you know, a politician has to be captivating. A politician has to be a really good communicator for the party. And, And Beto was probably one of the most talented retail politicians out there. And he still came short, I mean, very close when he ran against Ted Cruz. But, you know, Allred still pulled higher than Crockett in a head to head versus Paxton. But, you know, again, it's always hard to say these numbers are so close right now, like, we're talking about between three to one points on the polling. It is early, super early.
- [10:41]
Nomiki Konst
The campaigns haven't even really gotten going. They're basically just digital campaigns right now, like raising money. I'm not saying they're on the ground, but in terms of, like, head to head, I mean, the thing. I don't think it's going to heat up maybe after the new year starts to heat up a little bit more. I mean, immediately after the new year, I should say. Not right before.
- [11:00]
Tara Palmeri
Well, that's the thing I wanted to point out. So, you know, Paxton was beating Cornyn by 18 points, double digits, like, smoked out in a primary. Republican primary. Right. And now they're within striking distance. And that was still just over six months. So really, anything can happen. You know, we're about a year away. Talarico, apparently his favorabilities are +22, but his name ID is obviously horrendous because he is a state rep, whereas Jasmine Crockett, I'm pretty sure her name ID is pretty strong at this point for so many different reasons.
- [11:31]
Nomiki Konst
But once you. I mean, the primary is the primary, too. I think, you know, the other aspect of this is when you look at cities like Houston, you know, the black vote is very important, and she is like a, you know, a very strong leader, strong black woman who. I think we. Strong black women are the. Are the backbone of this party, and they're the most consistent, reliable voters. And I'm sure she's going to lean into that. And, you know, Tellarico does not have that base. He has a wider base. So in the primary, like, I think those factors are going to play a big. It's going to play into it. But in the general, I think Talarico has a better shot, frankly.
- [12:10]
Tara Palmeri
Yeah. We'll see if he makes it, though. So.
- [12:13]
Nomiki Konst
Yeah, right.
- [12:14]
Tara Palmeri
So Senator Cornyn already has an ad out attacking Crockett as radical, theatrical, and ineffective. Take a look. Emoji moment from Mark, who writes, I just want to thank you for making GLP1s affordable.
- [12:29]
Nomiki Konst
What would have been over $1,000 a.
- [12:31]
Tara Palmeri
Month is just 99amonth with Mochi money shouldn't be a barrier to healthy weight. Three months in and I have smaller jeans and a bigger wallet.
- [12:40]
Nomiki Konst
You're the best.
- [12:41]
Tara Palmeri
Thanks, Mark. I'm Mayra Amit, founder of Mochi Health. To find your mochi moment, visit joinmochi.com Mark is a Mochi member, compensated for his story. Listen to the ad over here on the border.
- [12:55]
Political Ad Narrator
Jasmine Crockett is downright dangerous. She voted against the Secure the Border act, falsely claimed it isn't a crime to enter the country illegally, it is.
- [13:03]
Tara Palmeri
Not a criminal violation to enter the.
- [13:05]
Political Ad Narrator
Country illegally, and defends illegal immigration with racially charged lines like, we're done picking cotton.
- [13:12]
Tara Palmeri
We done picking cotton.
- [13:14]
Political Ad Narrator
She attacks ice, opposes deportations, and fights cooperation with law enforcement at a time of historic border chaos. Crockett sides with the crisis, not Texas.
- [13:24]
Tara Palmeri
The thing that I think is so funny about this is to criticize a woman for being radical, theatrical and ineffective. It's like, are you talking about Crockett and President Trump? Because like, isn't he exactly one of the same? Isn't he the same? Like he is radical and theatrical? Some might say he's effective, depending on your point of view. But like, radical and theatrical is kind of the just the entry into politics at this point. Some of the comments though she has made will come back to Biter, particularly on immigration. It is Texas. Like, let's not forget that you can be too progressive, you can be too left for Texas, right? No, it's true.
- [14:00]
Nomiki Konst
I mean, it's, it's, listen, the ad is theatrical, dramatic. He's doing it himself. Everyone's just trying to win on the Internet and get attention and clicks and money and, you know, views and, and obviously he's setting himself up to be the front runner so that, you know, in a head to head with Jasmine Crockett, but it also, he's trying to frame the narrative like I'm the guy that's going to beat her. It's I am the front runner and I'm gonna win this primary. So I mean, strategic on his part, obviously extremely sexist. But it's a Republican primary, what do you expect? But the immigration stuff, you're right. I mean, I've worked in Arizona before, as I mentioned, and immigration is funny in these states because you're on the border. There's a much deeper understanding than say like the rest of the country. And even within Texas or within Arizona, like the northern Arizona and other parts of Texas not near the border have a very different understanding of border politics as well. But the economy also is affected by the border being closed off. People don't realize a lot of these cities that are right on the border were used to the back and forth traffic, you know, the daily traffic, and it's been closed off for several years now. But some of these towns have been hit very, very hard because like little shops that were on the border don't exist anymore. So there's a lot of dynamics that have to do with immigration that I think the national narrative doesn't capture. Yes, you have the conservative base. You have the Minutemen kind of guys. You've got the Ted Cruz style of immig. But really, at the end of the day, I think that's why George Bush's immigration policies were obviously much more moderate, because he was from Texas and he understood it.
- [15:32]
Tara Palmeri
Okay, got it. I do want to talk about the money of it all, and I know we talked about consultants making tons of money and this will probably be the most expensive primary in the state. Right. I think on both sides, Republicans and Democrats. I forgot to mention that Wesley Hunt is also running. And. And we'll see what happens there in Texas. And he's running on the Republican side. I do think someone will try to boot him, probably because it will lead to a runoff. But who knows? That could, I mean, could a runoff potentially be a good thing for Cornyn or Paxton? I don't know. But there are three Republicans running in the primary as of now, and who knows, another Democrat could jump in for all we know. But, like, does spending all that money actually engage Democrats who participate in the primaries, or does it just, like, drain more resources on a state? Again, that is a white whale.
- [16:24]
Nomiki Konst
Exactly. There's, you know, there's a lot of media markets in Texas, and they're not cheap media markets. So you're going to see a lot of ads. And, you know, those ads are going to be everywhere. They're going to be digital ads now. They're going to be on, you know, television and cable and everything. They're going to be drowning in the ads. And that's where the majority of this money goes, especially for statewides. But if they're smart, I mean, if someone like Teller, I think this is what Talarico's model is. He will invest more in organizing. He will be, you know, you know, putting more boots on the ground. And frankly, that's better for the Democratic Party is when you actually do have boots on the ground. So it's not just that they're not the DNC and the Democrats aren't investing in the parties that organize on the local level. It's that these races also aren't doing it because they think that ads will buy everything. Ads and mail. That's where you make your money as a consultant. I'm a consultant. I don't do ads or mail. I do strategy, which is. Doesn't pay off, but it's where they make all the money, it's these generic ads and people are going to get sick of it. Just like people in Iowa get sick of it during the presidential primaries. You know, folks can't avoid it. It's. I mean, unfortunately, I don't know if there's going to be any active effort to bring voters out. I think they're just going to rely on the anti Trump sentiment for voters to turn out.
- [17:42]
Tara Palmeri
Yeah, well, I'm happy that you're saving all of those trees by not sending mailers out, because I believe probably almost 75% of them go into the trash. And who knows if they make it into recycling. But let's just talk about money for a minute. And you were talking about, like, well, what's going on behind the scene? Does Crockett have just more money? She's got $4.6 million in her house account that she can transfer. Tolerico has 6.3 million. That's not nearly enough, but I'm just guessing the, the at the national party will just throw money at them. Yeah, I think, because there are. I think it's four seats that the Democrats need to pick up to take the Senate.
- [18:16]
Nomiki Konst
But it'll happen after the prime. I mean, my guess is Schumer gets involved in races all the time, so they're not supposed to get involved in these primaries, but they do. And. But Senator Schumer has to be careful, too, because he's getting. His approval ratings are catastrophic right now. And, you know, he's likely to be primaried by aoc, it feels like. And he can't be making these, like, rash moves where he's getting involved in primaries and progressives are even more angry. It's just setting him up for. For a primary that is probably gonna happen regardless. But my guess is that they will find a way to put money into Crockett's race. She's gonna raise a lot of money with her. She's gonna continue to, like, up the ante, be spicy the way she is. And that's very good for the Internet and for raising money. But she has a problem. Like I said, she's got the AIPAC connection. And there's a lot of anti AIPAC sentiment right now in the Democratic Party. And it's not just the left anymore. Like it was for many, many years. It was just the left. But we're seeing it in New York right now, where I live, with multiple candidates that have been very close to aipac, have taken hundreds of thousands of dollars, millions of dollars from aipac now being challenged from the left, from people who are like normal Democrats. They weren't even the most progressives. So the sentiment in this country has shifted very unfortunately due to horrific events because of Gaza, but shifted very quickly. And you're seeing a lot of Democrats, you know, dragging their tails, like between their legs because they, they, there's records, there's photos, there's, there's a, there's money. Even if they came out and said like, I'm no longer taking APAC money, it's like, oh, that's convenient. You said that just as you're being primaried from the left.
- [19:57]
Tara Palmeri
Totally. And this is an, a very animating issue for the left. It's not something that they take lightly. So here's another point I wanted to get to this whole idea that, you know, Crockett is too progressive for Texas, which she might be, but the guy she's running against, James Helrico, he might be just as progressive as her. And that's according to John Taylor at the University of Texas, and he works in the political science department. So why is she the radical one? Is it just because she makes clickbait all day long? Is it her style? I'm confused. I mean, I think that's, I mean, are they both problematic? At the end of the day? If you're anything like me, then you hate running around from store to store to store for holiday gifting. But you still want to get people that you love something beautiful, something timeless, something that they will wear for years. And that's why this year I'm going to quince. From Mongolian cashmere sweaters that only cost $50 to Italian wool coats, everything is premium quality at a price that actually makes sense. I personally wear a lot of their silk tops on this show because they're so reasonably priced and they're made with premium materials from ethical, trusted factories priced so far below luxury brands. I don't know how they do it. Their craftsmanship is shown in single detail. The stitching, the fit, the drape. It's elevated. It's timeless. It's. It's clothing you'll wear forever. So if you want to find gifts that you'll want to keep for yourself, Then head to quint.comtara for free shipping on your order and 365 days of returns. They're now available in Canada too. That's Quince. Q U I n c e.com Tara T A R A to get free shipping and 365 days of returns. Quince.com Tara In a general my guess.
- [21:47]
Nomiki Konst
Is that they probably say she's too radical just because she's more well known. And I mean, of course, probably sexism there, too. But I think that, you know, politically speaking, I mean, she's. She's been a little bit more conservative than most progressives. I think that, yeah, it's what they do to women. It's what they do to women who have a voice. And it's how they're going to frame her, too. How the Republicans innovate, incredibly sexist and racist way will frame her. But don't we want fighters right now? I mean, we look at Texas like it's this conservative, you know, truly conservative state. I don't think so. I think that, you know, the cities in Texas are very Democratic. It has. There is a populism in Texas. It's just Democrats don't work there full time. So if there is that sentiment right now, where people want to fight her and Trump's numbers are where they are, especially with the economy right now, and, and that continues, I think it doesn't matter how. How vocal she is, how quote, unquote, radical she is. I think she's going to be on stage in a debate if she's the nominee with a Republican, and they're not going to be able to run away from Trump's record, which is not doing well.
- [22:53]
Tara Palmeri
Yeah, she is going to be running on affordability, just like the rest of the Democrats. You know, it's funny because a Republican consultant in Texas who's very close to this race said that the Republicans believe that if Crockett wins the primary, Texas off the table. Is that unfair?
- [23:12]
Nomiki Konst
Interesting. Texas off table for Republicans now.
- [23:16]
Tara Palmeri
Yeah. Like they're not. No, like they, they don't have to worry about it if she wins the.
- [23:20]
Nomiki Konst
Primary, that they think they're going to beat her.
- [23:23]
Tara Palmeri
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [23:24]
Nomiki Konst
I mean, I just, I feel I'm not on the ground, but having spent enough time there and having friends that are involved in these races, I just. So close with Beto. It was so close with Allred, and now the temperature has just gotten so much worse for Republicans. It's just gone up. I think it's gonna be very difficult for Republicans to run away from Trump's record. And they're all gonna be relying on the MAGA base for the primary. And then in the general, they're going to be running away from the MAGA base, and I don't really think it's going to work right now. So, you know, even as we're having this conversation, I'm more convinced that whoever is the Democratic nominee will probably win. But again, we have a long set of months ahead of us, and anything can happen. You know, Texas could secede. Donald Trump could kick it out of the country. Like, I don't know.
- [24:19]
Tara Palmeri
Yeah. I mean, this consultant also gave me the caveat of, well, if Paxton wins, then it's anyone's guess. Yeah.
- [24:27]
Nomiki Konst
I mean, maybe.
- [24:28]
Tara Palmeri
I mean, he might just have too much baggage.
- [24:31]
Nomiki Konst
I think that's possible. I think the baggage is really bad. Go ahead.
- [24:35]
Tara Palmeri
Yeah. And not everyone's Trump. Like, they can't carry their baggage everywhere.
- [24:38]
Nomiki Konst
With them, and Trump can't even carry it right now. That's, that's the point is it's like, yeah, this is the problem now is Trump is trying to change the conversation. Wag the dog. Every day he's like, you know, wag the dog in chief, where, you know, one day he's talking about this, then that, you know, the Department of War is imploding because of the chats and this and that and then. And Venezuela. And then the next day he's like, talking about something else. He's going to Pennsylvania and doing an economic speech at a casino. And it's like. And every single thing he does, he's screwing up that he has to change the topic again the next day. And I think that's, like, really resonating with people. It's not just the autocratic playbook of moving a million miles an hour and just throwing everything against the wall. It's also his strategy to change the conversation, which he used to do in the 90s when he was in New York talking to the Post every day with his fake identity. What was it called, John?
- [25:31]
Tara Palmeri
Change the conversation towards him and his love life.
- [25:33]
Nomiki Konst
Yeah.
- [25:34]
Tara Palmeri
Yeah. Do you think, though, that Crockett is one of the most effective communicators in terms of speaking about affordability? If that is going to be.
- [25:41]
Nomiki Konst
I don't know about affordability. I think she's definitely an effective, incredibly effective communicator, but I wouldn't say that she's the person who Democrats see as, like, the affordability spokesperson. I think that's more of an aoc, more of a Zora Mamdani, of course. But I think she has to talk about affordability. And if she's an effective communicator and she can connect, if, you know, it's one thing to communicate on screen or in a hearing and fight with Marjorie Taylor Greene, it's a totally different thing to be able to communicate with voters and feel their Pain. And I think that's the balance she's going to have to figure out. And I do think Tyler Rico is better at that. But again, his name ideas is, is as high as hers. But she, you know, I've never seen her one on one with a voter. She might have it and we just haven't been able to see that. And hopefully her team will like, digital team will explore that more with like videos and the way Zoran did so well, where he would go out there and talk to voters and bodega owners and halal card owners, you know, that speaks to folks. They want to know, are you feeling the pain? Do you understand what the cost of, you know, the taco at the taco shop is in San Antonio? Do you know, you know what the cost of the barbecue ribs are in Houston? Like, do you know what the rent is right now? And that's going to be critical for her. Very critical.
- [27:01]
Tara Palmeri
Yeah. Do you think she understands that she has to win Trump voters? I don't know.
- [27:07]
Nomiki Konst
She does. She has to win Republicans, but maybe not Trump voters. Maybe the more moderate voters, you know.
- [27:15]
Tara Palmeri
Yeah, yeah, kind of like actually though.
- [27:18]
Nomiki Konst
And Carrie Lake, she said she, she.
- [27:20]
Tara Palmeri
Actually said that herself and she kind of said it in the same way, Katie Porter, that she doesn't need Trump voters to win. Do you think that's a. I don't.
- [27:28]
Nomiki Konst
Think you say that. I think that's.
- [27:34]
Tara Palmeri
Can she, she can win without Trump voters?
- [27:37]
Nomiki Konst
I think she can win with moderate Republicans and there are plenty of moderate Republicans and independents in Texas and that's I think, the model for most of the Sunbelt states, with exception to New Mexico and maybe, maybe, maybe Nevada. Yeah, I think that's the key is the Trump voter base is not, I mean, okay, yes, Trump means Republican and people who voted for Trump, but the MAGA base is not as large as the Republican Party.
- [28:04]
Tara Palmeri
Can we just talk about our makeover for a minute just as gal pals? Because like, I'm watching her on, looking at a picture of her on cnn and I always loved her stu style. Like I was like, you know, she's, she's got great style and I think you should be who you are, especially in this age of like influencer president, you know, politics and entertainment, colliding the attention economy. But she looks very much like a senator right now. She is wearing turtleneck and pearls. Okay. She has her hair blown out straight and she's got a little pocket square in there with her blazer, her blue blazer. I'm just like, whoa, this is just like, you just put your. Your Senate costume on and people do it.
- [28:50]
Nomiki Konst
AOC did it. I mean, it's. It's. You have to show, unfortunately, women. Yeah.
- [28:57]
Tara Palmeri
For women.
- [28:58]
Nomiki Konst
Put in the position too much. You know, I. I've seen so many candidates. They. They're judged based on what they wear. They're judged based on, you know, how they wear their hair. And we live in a. Unfortunately, a vapid society, and you need to, like, psychologically. And women do it to women, too. So it's not just to, like, appeal to men who may not see her in that light. Women, too.
- [29:23]
Tara Palmeri
It's crazy. Yeah. I know. When I went into broadcast journalism, I had to go through the car wash and get myself, you know, glow up, glammed up. I don't wear glasses anymore. You know, my hair got. My hair's different. The whole thing, actually.
- [29:40]
Nomiki Konst
I mean, they also do this. You know, this. Like, when I started up and I was doing a lot of Fox, I remember this one woman came to me who's. I don't want to, like, give it away, but she's. Her husband's on the board of News Corps. Was. Or whatever. And she came up to me after a segment one day in the morning, and she's like, hey, I have to be your image consultant right now.
- [30:02]
Tara Palmeri
And I'm like, what?
- [30:03]
Nomiki Konst
And they had a whole conversation with me. They're like, your dress is great. Your earrings are too big. We don't like the earrings that big because they distract from the face. Don't wear nails with your earrings.
- [30:12]
Tara Palmeri
They always say that.
- [30:13]
Nomiki Konst
And then she's like, because you're in the leg chair. Because it's like, 10 years ago when I was younger. This is so funny.
- [30:17]
Tara Palmeri
The leg chair.
- [30:18]
Nomiki Konst
It's so funny. Wear tan nylons that are shiny and tan shoes, like, skin color, because it extends your leg.
- [30:30]
Tara Palmeri
Yes. That's a fact. Yeah.
- [30:33]
Nomiki Konst
Fitted dress.
- [30:34]
Tara Palmeri
Yeah.
- [30:35]
Nomiki Konst
You know, it's a whole thing.
- [30:36]
Tara Palmeri
But you know what? Now that I'm in a podcast chair, I'm like, well, I just want to be comfy, but I still want to look good. So I wear silk blouses from one of my sponsors, actually, Quince. I paid for it myself, but Quince is my sponsor. And by the way, if you want to, I'm gonna throw in a. Throw in, a little throw to them. Quince, say, I sent you their Tara palmeri show. Use quince.com tara. So. And you can get shirts like me, silk shirts that are moderately priced and washable. But I do want to ask you because you are a political consultant. If you were advising the national party, would you tell them to invest heavily in Texas or would you?
- [31:13]
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- [31:43]
Tara Palmeri
Just say walk away. Let it play out.
- [31:45]
Nomiki Konst
I would probably wait and see how much the Democrats are able to raise on their own, the candidates right now on their own, given that there is so much visibility and so many eyes on them on both sides, the Talarico and Crockett. And then because it's too late to build up the party from the ground up right now. I think after this cycle the Democrats should definitely put more money into their state party, other state parties, they should be training organizers on the ground more. They should be recruiting women to run for school boards in that state. I mean, I didn't really understand through this redistricting process I learned about how the elections work in Texas is wild and how the legislature works. It's wild. But we as Democrats don't spend enough time like consultants, whoever, really understanding the nitty gritty of how these localities operate. And I think this race will probably have enough money being thrown at it from different committees and interests. And I think whoever's a nominee will.
- [32:50]
Tara Palmeri
Be a lot of grassroots money just being thrown at it because of the people involved.
- [32:53]
Nomiki Konst
Exactly, exactly. But you know, of course they're going to come in if like there's some extra money that's, you know, needed. But off, off years. Yeah, they should be like investing in the state. It's winnable. And then we won't be in this situation every few years. But then, you know, consultants will lose their money.
- [33:08]
Tara Palmeri
So we'll see if it's winnable.
- [33:12]
Nomiki Konst
You don't need pretty amazing money in 30 years.
- [33:14]
Tara Palmeri
It would be pretty epic if in 30 years after 30 year drought of statewide win, Democrats win. This year in Texas.
- [33:23]
Nomiki Konst
We forget Ann Richards, one of the feistiest. And maybe that's sort of what. What Jasmine.
- [33:28]
Tara Palmeri
Governor, though.
- [33:29]
Nomiki Konst
She was governor, but she, you know, was feisty. Statewide Democrat. Like that state was a lady.
- [33:34]
Tara Palmeri
You're right. Maybe the woman, the ladies can do it.
- [33:37]
Nomiki Konst
Yeah.
- [33:37]
Tara Palmeri
And like just stroll in like Athena, take the City.
- [33:41]
Nomiki Konst
I love it.
- [33:42]
Tara Palmeri
And back then, obviously Greek, so I had to use the Athena reference. Reference, Reference. I love it. Or would you have to choose a state, though? Like, if you could only choose two states to focus on this cycle, which one would you do for Democrats?
- [34:03]
Nomiki Konst
I think Texas is so fascinating, for sure, and New York is fascinating. I mean, basically that's what I'm doing right now is New York City. But New York City just has so many races this cycle and. And you have a lot of opportunity for. I mean, people are unafraid to challenge. And that's where the conversation's coming out of right now in terms of progressive politics and affordability. Obviously, we're going to have a new mayor who's going to play a big role in the national conversation and that's going to impact all the down ballot races, which I know it's a Democratic state, so people are like, who cares about the down ballot races? But we had a legislature, as you know, when you were in New York, as a reporter, we had a legislature that was held up by Republicans for a very long time and Andrew Cuomo. So there's a lot of opportunity for growth. And I also think New York is where you're going to see a lot of the progress come out of that will set the model for the rest of the country. Just because we were able to defeat, you know, get the legislature back and defeat Cuomo. And I'd be watching all these congressional races.
- [35:01]
Tara Palmeri
They're.
- [35:02]
Nomiki Konst
They're fascinating. I mean, you have two races right now, one in the poorest district in the country that brushes up against the most wealthy district in the country where there's competitive primaries, and that's all in New York City. So I think it's great for the narrative of just setting the tone and the narrative and the type of campaigns that we probably need to run all over the country, even though it's New York City.
- [35:24]
Tara Palmeri
Okay.
- [35:24]
Nomiki Konst
Yeah.
- [35:25]
Tara Palmeri
But also, I think the state of New York is probably useful because there's a lot, probably a lot of pickup House seats and that actually New York was strangely the majority maker.
- [35:36]
Nomiki Konst
Yeah, it was. And they took their eye off the ball, you know, a couple years ago and, you know, the DCCC chair was being challenged, Sean Patrick Maloney, and he's no longer in office. He was redistricted. And that's the year that we lost the House and all roads led to New York. And we still have the same Democratic Party chair who is partially responsible for that.
- [36:00]
Tara Palmeri
Yeah, that was another episode of the Tower of Palmieri show. Stick around for the exclusive interview with Nomiki Konst. She's a friend of mine and she opens up about what it's like to be almost a political spouse to the former mayor of New York, Bill de Blasio, someone that I used to cover. Yeah, their breakup was pretty messy, as you heard, and I can't believe that they were almost going to have a child together. But take a listen to it all just kind of spilled out at the end of this interview and we thought, hey, why not just clip it and make it its own interview altogether? I want to thank everyone for tuning into the show. If you like the this show, please subscribe. Rate it, share it with all your friends. If you want to support my independent journalism, go to Tara Palmeri.com and sign up for my newsletter, the Red Letter. By becoming a paid subscriber, you get my exclusive report reporting straight to your inbox. And it's also just a great way to support independent journalists who don't have corporate sponsors. I want to thank my producer Eric Abinate, I want to thank Abby Baker on the research and social media, and I want to thank my manager Dan Rosen and Adam Stewart on the graphics. See you again tomorrow. Shoe shopping should be fun and full of surprises. DSW has never ending options for every style, mood and occasion, all at really great prices. From sneakers to boots and everything in between, DSW makes it easy to discover the styles you love and maybe even a few you didn't expect. Whether you're shopping in store or online, you'll always find fresh looks at prices that make sense. Find the shoes that get you at prices that get your budget at DSW stores or dsw.com.