Rep. James Talarico
Texas Rep. James Talarico launched his bid for U.S. Senate on Tuesday, promising in an interview to bring honesty and compassion back to politics, while pursuing a fairer distribution of wealth and power in the country.
“It’s been 10 years of Trumpian politics — politics as blood sport,” said Talarico, a progressive from Austin and an aspiring minister, in an interview. “This campaign can show people what a different kind of politics would look like — one that actually fights for people regardless of their party or their race or their gender or their religion — and takes on this broken political system and the very powerful people who benefit from this system being broken.”
A former public school teacher and nonprofit director, Talarico, 36, has served in the Texas House since 2018, representing North Austin and parts of Pflugerville and Round Rock. He was first elected to a seat that narrowly went for President Donald Trump in 2016, before switching to a bluer district in 2021 when state Republicans drew him out of his original seat.
Talarico has seen his profile skyrocket over the past year as he built a viral presence online with clips of him drawing on his Christian faith to oppose private school vouchers and religion in schools, while battling Republican lawmakers and conservative media hosts. He also landed a high-profile feature on Joe Rogan’s podcast this summer, a coveted appearance among Democrats looking to engage audiences that have veered right.
He has emerged as one of Texas Democrats’ most effective communicators — a skill he attributes in part to his two years as a middle school teacher — and he more recently helped lead the caucus’ messaging efforts against Republicans’ mid-decade redistricting.
Talarico joins a Democratic primary field that so far includes Colin Allred, a former Dallas congressman and NFL linebacker who fell short of unseating U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz in 2024 by 8.5 percentage points, and former astronaut Terry Virts. Former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke and U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro of San Antonio are also considering running.
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Videos of Talarico sparring with his Republican colleagues have garnered millions of views on social media. But he emphasized that he’d also gained experience in the House working and building relationships across the aisle, on efforts to pass major legislation such as a $25-per-month cap on insulin copays and a bill to import low-cost prescription drugs from Canada.
Talarico, who is lesser known outside of Central Texas, said he intended to campaign in “unorthodox ways” and reach Texans across platforms, from social media to town halls full of Republican voters. During his first run for the Texas House, for instance, he walked 25 miles along the length of his district and held three town halls along the way.
“The country is looking for a reset in the Democratic Party, and I think we’ve got to put forward people who are offering something different and something new,” he said. “A conventional campaign is not going to work in Texas.”
Talarico said he wanted to replicate O’Rourke’s “energy,” and “his willingness to go everywhere and talk to everyone,” during the former congressman’s 2018 Senate campaign where he famously visited all 254 counties. But Talarico said he would rightsize the strategy for today’s TikTok era. His launch video, for instance, will be filmed vertically and tailor-made for the “newest platforms,” he said.
When asked about his platform, Talarico did not name specific policy issues but said that taking on billionaires was the way to achieve outcomes such as lower costs of childcare and housing, expanded health care access and fully-funded public schools — all issues he worked on as a state legislator.
“I’ve really come to think of politics less as left vs. right and more as top vs. bottom,” he said, arguing that the wealthiest Americans are increasingly “the powers that be,” in politics, media and the economy.
See here for the background. The main thing I will add to what I’ve said before is that I’ll be interested to see how exactly Talarico updates the Beto 2018 strategy. It sounds like he’s mostly talking about the social media aspect of it – TikTok wasn’t a thing in 2018 – but I would encourage him and everyone else to think a bit more strategically about that 254-county part of it. Some places are too small, too isolated, and too red to spend time on an in person visit for the purpose of checking a box. Spend some time in the small to midsize cities, where I continue to believe there’s a lot of potential for common ground with the big urbans, and hammer home the message that the Republicans are doing plenty to harm them and precious little to help them. Politico (scroll down to item 5 under “9 things for your radar”) and The Downballot have more.
We live near Talarico’s district now and will support him. I have type 1 diabetes, like he does, and his work in capping insulin costs was very important to me. His politics are smart and compassionate and his communications skills are superb. I’m as skeptical as anyone could be that it’s possible for a good Dem candidate to win Texas. But we can’t stop trying
I’d pay good money to see him debate Ted ‘Cancun’ Cruz.