In fiercely competitive Democratic Senate race, social media influencers increasingly drive the conversation

The disputed allegation was first aired on TikTok.

A Dallas-based political content creator, Morgan Thompson, told her almost 200,000 followers that state Rep. James Talarico, an Austin Democrat running for U.S. Senate, referred to former U.S. Rep. Colin Allred as a “mediocre Black man.”

The claim went viral. And, from his home gym on Monday, Allred made his own selfie-style video in which he tore into Talarico for the alleged remark and endorsed his rival in the primary, U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett.