A Rising Democratic Star Enters the Grunt-Work Phase
Texas’s James Talarico: “My party is scarred from the last election and scared of its own shadow.”
FEW DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES have generated as much buzz among party strategists as James Talarico did upon entering the Texas Senate race. The political potential of the 36-year-old former middle school teacher and seminary student has been apparent ever since he flipped a Trump-leaning House district in the Austin suburbs in 2018. And it’s only grown as he’s developed an impressive social media following, with clips of his speeches on the Texas House floor often going viral, and a widely applauded appearance on Joe Rogan’s podcast in July.
Six weeks after he announced his Senate run, however, the glitz is giving way to the grunt work. Talarico was not on Rogan or any other major podcast this week. He was in Nashville, where he was set to attend a private fundraiser (tickets started at $500, according to an invitation shared with me). He agreed to meet up with me for an interview at an airport hotel lobby. Not exactly the swankiest of settings.
Talarico has quickly proven himself to be a skilled fundraiser, pulling in $6.2 million in the first three weeks of his campaign—outpacing his Democratic primary rival, former U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, who raised $4.1 million over the three months since his July 1 campaign launch. And in the time we spent together, it was clear that there’s meaningful energy behind Talarico’s candidacy. Just as I was about to start the interview, a man wearing a Longhorns hat interrupted us to tell Talarico that as a Texan, he was “very proud” of him. Talarico told me that just a few minutes earlier he had been recognized by someone else in the Nashville airport.
But even with the chance encounters, the buzz, and the early fundraising success, some party officials I spoke with in the past few weeks have urged caution. They worry that Democratic voters and donors could be falling in love with a candidate who is a consultant’s idea of the ideal candidate. More to the point, they fear that Talarico has made comments in the past that are out of line with the feelings and opinions of average Texans and resonate more with the party’s educated base. Our conversation below has been edited for length and clarity.
LAUREN EGAN: Every single cycle, Democrats say that this is finally going to be the year that Texas turns blue. Can you be as specific as possible about why you think it could actually happen in 2026?
JAMES TALARICO: When I was growing up in Texas, Democrats lost by 25 or 30 points in statewide elections. Now, increasingly, Democrats lose by single digits. If you look at the trend lines, the state is getting more competitive, not less. I would say Texas is much more in line with Georgia and Arizona in terms of its trajectory than states like Ohio, Iowa, Florida.
I think 2026 will be a favorable environment for Democrats, given that people are seeing the extremism, the corruption from one-party rule. Whether it’s John Cornyn or Ken Paxton, it’s going to be a weakened Republican opponent. And then the third piece of the puzzle is