{"id":846979,"date":"2026-06-05T21:03:31","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T21:03:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/846979\/"},"modified":"2026-06-05T21:03:31","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T21:03:31","slug":"can-james-talarico-do-better-than-beto","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/846979\/","title":{"rendered":"Can James Talarico do better than Beto?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"James Talarico addresses supporters at an election night watch party on March 3, 2026 in Austin, Texas. Credit: Shunya Carroll<\/p>\n

This article was originally published by the\u00a0Texas Observer<\/a>, a nonprofit investigative news outlet and magazine. Sign up for their\u00a0weekly newsletter<\/a>, or follow them on\u00a0Facebook<\/a>,\u00a0X<\/a>, and\u00a0Bluesky<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Rock band logos stickered the walls and railings in the dim light of the Paper Tiger, the grungy San Antonio venue with a 1,000-person capacity that was packed wall to wall for U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico last Friday evening.<\/p>\n

It was night three of The People vs. Ken Paxton tour, as the Austin Democrat has dubbed his general election kickoff, and the line to get in stretched a quarter-mile long. Hopeful Democrats stood sweating in the summer sun for hours, while a small army of neon-vested volunteers passed out waters.<\/p>\n

Talarico, the modest seminarian, former middle school teacher, and four-term state representative, has attracted a devoted following and a level of national hype akin to Beto O\u2019Rourke\u2019s campaign against U.S. Senator Ted Cruz back in 2018 \u2014 but many Lone Star liberals feel certain that something is different this time around, that no matter how many times this has been teased before, victory is on the horizon.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI supported Beto. I had the shirt. I had the yard signs,\u201d said Marcos Ozuna, an educator in Northside Independent School District and member of the American Federation of Teachers union. \u201cBut I think this is going to be the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

O\u2019Rourke came just three points shy<\/a> of unseating Cruz in 2018, closely aligning with public polling that predicted his loss. By comparison, the latest polls show Talarico leading or tied with Ken Paxton. Like O\u2019Rourke, Talarico has raised boatloads of campaign cash so far\u2014over $40 million, including $3 million in the 24 hours<\/a> after Paxton won the runoff\u2014and the watchful gaze of both political parties seems to rest upon him with fear and anticipation.<\/p>\n

The prevailing winds are arguably as strong or stronger for a Democrat like Talarico this cycle as they were in 2018. That\u2019s further aided by the fact that he\u2019s facing a scandal-tarnished non-incumbent by the name of Ken Paxton, who was just beat up by over $100 million in attack ads run by his primary opponent John Cornyn and national Senate Republicans. Paxton, the Texas attorney general, may have crushed Senator John Cornyn in the primary with the support of President Donald Trump, but his impeachment for bribery and abuse of office in 2023, his alleged marital infidelity, and various other misdeeds have split members of the Republican Party.<\/p>\n

Former Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan, who oversaw the AG\u2019s impeachment, told Newsweek<\/a> that he fears a blue wave down-ballot because some Republicans will never vote for Ken Paxton \u201cunder any circumstances.\u201d At least one poll, by the Texas Public Opinion Research, affirms this<\/a>, with 30 percent of surveyed Cornyn voters choosing Talarico over Paxton. Another 23 percent were undecided or said they wouldn\u2019t vote at all. Just this week, Cornyn declined to retract<\/a> his prior statements calling Paxton a \u201ccrook\u201d who doesn\u2019t belong in the U.S. Senate.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Talarico supporters line up to get into the Democratic Senate candidate\u2019s campaign rally in San Antonio. (Eden Shamy)<\/p>\n

At the rally, San Antonio state Representative Diego Bernal took the stage first as he fanned the flames of the ongoing Spurs playoff run, leading the crowd in chants of \u201cGo Spurs go! Go James go!\u201d Bernal promised to take Talarico \u201chonking,\u201d<\/a> a pure San Antonio tradition. But Talarico is no stranger to San Antonio, and his time teaching middle school on the West Side has been a key part of his campaign.<\/p>\n

Talarico\u2019s opposition to private school vouchers and the defunding of public schools was a major motivating factor for rally-goers. Local nurse Lori Garcia said her 8-year-old daughter has moved schools three times in the midst of campus closures and defunding.<\/p>\n

And Ozuna, a reading specialist, said budget shortfalls have directly impacted himself and his students.<\/p>\n

Talarico\u2019s stump speech followed the usual rhetorical route, swearing off money and corruption in politics while weaving in a sermon about service and honor. Backdropped by the Lone Star flag, he reclaimed nostalgic ideas around tradition and pride that have long been the domain of Christian nationalists. He nodded to anti-fascism, grounding it in the sacrifices of the Greatest Generation who fought the Nazis in World War II. \u201cThe greatest among you will be a servant,\u201d Talarico said, quoting the words of Jesus in Matthew 23:11. \u201cThat is a radical idea in a world obsessed with power, and wealth, and status.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many of Talarico\u2019s supporters, Christian or otherwise, believe Talarico\u2019s blend of theology with progressive and democratic values has the potency to take back Texas from the grips of conservative evangelicals.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a Christian myself, and he practices what he preaches. Jesus is all about taking care of one another, loving one another,\u201d said Garcia, squinting her glittery blue-dusted eyes against the sun outside. She\u2019s been a fan of Talarico since watching him debate in the Texas House. \u201cHe keeps his composure, always shows respect, does it with a smile, and it just makes me proud.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brendan Steinhauser, a GOP strategist in Texas, isn\u2019t so confident that Talarico\u2019s theology will land with swing voters. While O\u2019Rourke was, and Talarico is, a young, dynamic candidate able to make the Senate race highly competitive, Steinhauser believes Talarico will have a harder time maneuvering around his past. \u201cO\u2019Rourke was a much fresher face, like he had more room to define himself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since Talarico secured the Democratic nomination, Paxton has seized on past Talarico statements about trans kids and God being \u201cnonbinary\u201d to deride the Democrat as a fake Texan, fake Christian<\/a>, and radical leftist. Steinhauser said that while Paxton should focus more on his accomplishments as attorney general, culture-war issues remain a strong motivator among the moderate to conservative base. \u201cThose words are going to get played in a loop all the way to November,\u201d said Steinhauser. That\u2019s a standard Republican playbook: In 2024, Ted Cruz\u2019s campaign plastered the state with ads attacking Democratic challenger Colin Allred\u2014who ultimately lost by about eight points\u2014on the issue of transgender kids in sports.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Democratic strategist Matt Angle said the attacks are nothing but a weak distraction from Paxton\u2019s corruption. Angle founded the Lone Star Project PAC and Texas Justice Fund, which are supporting Talarico and other Democratic campaigns. Talarico\u2019s Christian values and big-tent campaign are the perfect foil to Paxton\u2019s \u201cidolatry, adultery, lying, stealing, and coveting,\u201d Angle said.<\/p>\n

\u201cJames Talarico is the grandson every MAGA grandma would like to have, and Ken Paxton is the grandson that gives them nightmares.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Democratic base has already started to joyfully reclaim the \u201ccringe\u201d<\/a> currently haunting Talarico\u2019s campaign.<\/p>\n

Talarico told the San Antonio crowd that he launched \u201cI\u2019m a Talafreako\u201d merchandise, referencing a nickname from Paxton, which rally-goers were eager to get their hands on. One volunteer wore dangly earrings with Talarico\u2019s face on them and a pin that read \u201cI freak out for James Talarico.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Talarico at the San Antonio event (Eden Shamy)<\/p>\n

Talarico\u2019s general election launch tour has also taken him through Houston, Nacogdoches, Leander, and up in Paxton\u2019s backyard of Collin County, where roughly 4,000 supporters reportedly packed into a Plano venue.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For Democrats in San Antonio, Talarico\u2019s promise to expand affordable healthcare and fix the economy were top of mind. Garcia, the nurse, said patients can\u2019t afford the medications and care they need. Ozuna said he hustles as a woodworker, electrician, and plumber during summer \u201cbreak\u201d because his teaching salary isn\u2019t sufficient to cover costs. \u201cI work more whenever I have time \u2018off\u2019 than I do whenever I am working in the classroom,\u201d Ozuna said.<\/p>\n

In both outright and subtle ways, Talarico denounced greedy capitalistic policies and the false promise of Ronald Reagan-esque trickle-down economics, framing his agenda against billionaires and corporations as a spiritual battle of good versus evil and retelling the harrowing story of a worker who collapsed and died in an Amazon<\/a> factory in April. \u201cThey told the workers to turn around. Don\u2019t look, and get back to work,\u201d Talarico said. \u201cThat was a child of God. That was a sibling of ours, sacrificed on the altar of corporate greed.\u201d<\/p>\n

With his closing remarks, he promised to go after the billionaire\u2019s \u201ctop puppet\u201d in Paxton and to raise people\u2019s pay, cut taxes, and lower costs. He recited his final lines like a biblical mandate.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is something in the air. I am confident. I can feel it in my bones that we\u2019re gonna win this election,\u201d Talarico said. \u201cAnd on November 3, the greatest among us will be the servants.\u201d<\/p>\n

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