{"id":239135,"date":"2025-09-19T14:43:12","date_gmt":"2025-09-19T14:43:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/239135\/"},"modified":"2025-09-19T14:43:12","modified_gmt":"2025-09-19T14:43:12","slug":"in-dallas-james-talarico-says-texans-should-unite-against-billionaires","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/239135\/","title":{"rendered":"In Dallas, James Talarico says Texans should unite against billionaires"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"body-text-paragraph\">Smack dab in the middle of his Democratic rival\u2019s home turf, newly minted Senate candidate James Talarico on Thursday called on North Texas voters to reject the politics of division and unite against a common foe: the nation\u2019s billionaires.<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-text-paragraph\">\u201cSo many of the divisions in this country are manufactured by billionaires who want us fighting each other, so that we\u2019re not fighting them,\u201d Talarico told an overflow crowd at Deep Ellum Art Co. in Dallas. \u201cThey want us looking left and right at each other, so that we\u2019re not looking up at them. The biggest divide in our politics is not left versus right, it\u2019s top versus bottom.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The 2026 Texas primary for the U.S. Senate seat held by John Cornyn is drawing a field of strong candidates, and primaries on both sides are expected to be competitive. The outcome of the race could have a significant impact on state and national politics.<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-text-paragraph\">Talarico, a state representative from Austin, said polarizing politics and culture war issues are manufactured by the billionaire class and exacerbated by social media moguls who push algorithms designed to keep Americans at loggerheads.<\/p>\n<p>Related<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"aspect-ratio:190 \/ 127\" class=\"dmnc_features-article-body-embeds-related-story-module__2UraD flex-none object-cover dmnc_images-modern-image-module__QFaG- max-w-full h-auto text-white dmnc_images-modern-image-module__9Zlll bg-gray-light object-contain dmnc_images-modern-image-module__P3kZ4 w-full\" width=\"190\" height=\"127\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/ZDDCSJAWNFCXHAG5GRK3ANR3GA.jpg\" alt=\"State Rep. James Talarico, D-Austin, arrives to a cheering crowd for a rally of Collin...\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"body-text-paragraph\">He said transgender residents, undocumented residents and Muslims each make up 1% of the U.S. population, and that they were not responsible for \u201cdefunding schools,\u201d taxing policy or any of the issues that should be paramount in the political discourse.<\/p>\n<p>Political Points<\/p>\n<p class=\"dmnc_features-cta-social-article-cta-social-module__3beff secondaryRoman secondaryRoman-20 text-center text-gray-dark\">Get the latest politics news from North Texas and beyond.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dmnc_features-cta-social-article-cta-social-module__8MgJa flex flex-wrap text-gray-dark secondaryRoman secondaryRoman-10 text-center justify-center\">By signing up, you agree to our\u00a0<a class=\"dmnc_features-cta-social-article-cta-social-module__lU9-l border-b border-gray-dark hover_border-0 focus_border-0 active_border-0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dallasnews.com\/help\/terms-of-service\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Terms of Service<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a class=\"dmnc_features-cta-social-article-cta-social-module__lU9-l border-b border-gray-dark hover_border-0 focus_border-0 active_border-0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dallasnews.com\/help\/privacy-policy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Privacy Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"body-text-paragraph\">Talarico said billionaires also make up 1% of the population, adding \u201cThe only minority destroying America is the billionaires\u2026 We are focused on the wrong 1%.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio:4096 \/ 2169\"   class=\"dmnc_images-modern-image-module__QFaG- max-w-full h-auto text-white dmnc_images-modern-image-module__9Zlll bg-gray-light object-contain\" width=\"4096\" height=\"2169\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/HFKGYT2PIVGBPLWXT63HQASDSE.jpg\" alt=\"A large crowd of supporters gathered to hear from state Rep. James Talarico, who is running...\"\/><\/p>\n<p>A large crowd of supporters gathered to hear from state Rep. James Talarico, who is running in the Democratic primary against Colin Allred, at Deep Ellum Art Co. in Dallas on Sept. 18, 2025. <\/p>\n<p>Steve Hamm \/ Special Contributor<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-text-paragraph\">\u201cThey divide us by party, by race, by gender, by religion, to keep us from seeing that they\u2019re picking our pockets, that they\u2019re closing our schools, that they\u2019re gutting our health care, that they\u2019re cutting taxes to themselves while they raise taxes on all of us,\u201d Talarico said. \u201cIt is the oldest strategy in the world, divide and conquer. They are trying to keep us from seeing all that we have in common.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-text-paragraph\">Talarico <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dallasnews.com\/news\/politics\/2025\/09\/09\/texas-rep-james-talarico-launches-us-senate-campaign\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">announced his campaign<\/a> for the Democratic nomination for Senate last week, saying he was the underdog in the March primary and \u2014 if he makes it that far \u2014 the November 2026 general election.<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-text-paragraph\">His most formidable primary opponent is former U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, D-Dallas and the unsuccessful 2024 Democratic Senate nominee against Republican Ted Cruz. Allred on Thursday hosted a town hall meeting in Waco.<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-text-paragraph\">During his speech Talarico mentioned Allred\u2019s name only once.<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-text-paragraph\">\u201cI probably shouldn\u2019t start a political campaign by saying something nice about my opponent, but Colin Allred is a good man,\u201d Talarico said. \u201cAll of us, including me, put our faith in him as our Democratic nominee two years ago, and I was out there with many of you trying to help him defeat Ted Cruz. And at the time, I said Ted Cruz is the worst senator in America. Looking at the current Republican field in this race, I think that title might be up for grabs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-text-paragraph\">In an interview after his speech, Talarico was asked what made him a better choice than Allred.<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-text-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019m here to earn the trust and the support of people in D-FW, and I may not be from here, but I won a seat in the state Legislature by flipping a Trump district that people thought was unwinnable, thought was impossible,\u201d Talarico answered. \u201cSo I know how to bring people together from diverse communities to do big things, impossible things, and I hope to do that statewide in 2026.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio:4096 \/ 1926\"   class=\"dmnc_images-modern-image-module__QFaG- max-w-full h-auto text-white dmnc_images-modern-image-module__9Zlll bg-gray-light object-contain\" width=\"4096\" height=\"1926\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/YWZ6VHB2R5D7HIC4ROOTRC7O6A.jpg\" alt=\"An overflow crowd filled Deep Ellum Art Co. in Dallas on Sept. 18, 2025, at a campaign stop...\"\/><\/p>\n<p>An overflow crowd filled Deep Ellum Art Co. in Dallas on Sept. 18, 2025, at a campaign stop for newly minted U.S. Senate candidate state Rep. James Talarico, who is running in the Democratic primary against Colin Allred. <\/p>\n<p>Steve Hamm \/ Special Contributor<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-text-paragraph\">In 2018, when Talarico flipped a Republican statehouse district, Allred won the then-Republican-leaning Congressional District 32 against Republican Pete Sessions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-text-paragraph\">The event served to showcase some of Talarico\u2019s Dallas County support. Speaking on the program and pledging to support his candidacy was state Rep. Aicha Davis, D-Dallas, who introduced Talarico. Also on the program were former state Rep. Carol Sherman Sr., D-DeSoto, and State Board of Education member Tiffany Clark, also from DeSoto. And sitting in the VIP section were state Reps. Terry Meza of Irving and John Bryant of Dallas.<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-text-paragraph\">Dallas County Democratic Party Chairman Kardal Coleman kicked off the program, but as party chairman is not endorsing a candidate in the Democratic Senate primary.<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-text-paragraph\">On Tuesday, Allred <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dallasnews.com\/news\/politics\/2025\/09\/16\/colin-allred-touts-support-from-black-elected-leaders-as-democratic-senate-race-heats-up\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">unveiled a list of five Texas House Democrats<\/a> backing him that included state Reps. Toni Rose of Dallas and Rhetta Andrews Bowers of Rowlett. Allred <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dallasnews.com\/news\/politics\/2025\/07\/01\/dallas-democrat-colin-allred-launches-senate-campaign-for-seat-held-by-john-cornyn\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">launched his Senate campaign<\/a> in July.<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-text-paragraph\">Talarico praised the energy in the room and said Texans needed to be united to topple either incumbent Sen. John Cornyn or Attorney General Ken Paxton. They are the major candidates vying for the GOP Senate nomination.<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-text-paragraph\">\u201cNeither John Cornyn nor Ken Paxton deserve the honor of representing Texas,\u201d Talarico said. \u201cBoth of them are far more interested in serving their donors and serving the people of this state. Both of them have sold us out time and time again.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio:2197 \/ 926\"   class=\"dmnc_images-modern-image-module__QFaG- max-w-full h-auto text-white dmnc_images-modern-image-module__9Zlll bg-gray-light object-contain\" width=\"2197\" height=\"926\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/XMATTY7MERHJXLOTDRX3S6VNHE.jpg\" alt=\"Former U.S. Rep. Colin Allred and state Rep. James Talarico have become competitors on the...\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Former U.S. Rep. Colin Allred and state Rep. James Talarico have become competitors on the campaign trail as they both vie for a U.S. Senate seat.<\/p>\n<p>Shafkat Anowar | Mikala Compton \/ Staff Photographer, Austin American-Statesman via AP<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-text-paragraph\">Defeating Cornyn and Paxton requires unity, Talarico said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-text-paragraph\">\u201cThe most revolutionary thing you can do in an age of division is bring people together,\u201d he said. \u201cWe are far more the same than we are different. We have shared problems and shared dreams. Imagine who we could take on, if we did it together. Imagine what we could change in this country, if we did it together. As one team, we\u2019re unstoppable.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Smack dab in the middle of his Democratic rival\u2019s home turf, newly minted Senate candidate James Talarico on&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":239136,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5135],"tags":[5229,1596,25227,42900,80,358,3187,8579,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-239135","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-dallas","10":"tag-john-cornyn","11":"tag-marc-veasey","12":"tag-politics","13":"tag-texas","14":"tag-tx","15":"tag-u-s-senate","16":"tag-united-states","17":"tag-united-states-of-america","18":"tag-unitedstates","19":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","20":"tag-us","21":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115231497378588383","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239135","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=239135"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239135\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/239136"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=239135"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=239135"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=239135"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}