Join the party, there’s plenty of room.
Rep. James Talarico
State Rep. James Talarico, a former schoolteacher who often goes viral on social media for his feisty exchanges with Republicans, told Hearst Newspapers he is considering a bid for the U.S. Senate in 2026.
“The legislative session just ended, and I am having conversations about how I can best serve, and that does include the Senate race,” said Talarico, an Austin Democrat.
The seat is currently held by longtime U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, who is facing a Republican primary challenge from Attorney General Ken Paxton.
No Democrats have officially declared for the race. But former U.S. Reps. Colin Allred and Beto O’Rourke, who both unsuccessfully challenged U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, have also voiced interest in running.
Talarico, 36, joined the state Legislature in 2019 after flipping a Republican-held seat that stretches north from Austin. This session, he emerged as a forceful voice against Gov. Greg Abbott’s push for private school vouchers, frequently castigating the policy in floor debates and committee hearings as a “scam” pushed by West Texas billionaires to provide “welfare for the wealthy.”
He is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, Harvard University and the Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. As a pastor, Talarico frequently quotes scripture and invokes religious ideas to criticize policies like displaying the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms.
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In addition to the U.S. Senate seat, governor, attorney general, lieutenant governor and the other statewide offices are on the ballot in 2026.
A U.S. Senate run would take significant capital; last year’s contest was the most expensive in the nation with more than $165 million in fundraising. Talarico’s state campaign account had $639,000 at the end of last year. Democrats said they are confident he could bring in national donors because of his ability to gain traction on social media.
Talarico’s legislative speeches are often clipped and posted on his official accounts. On TikTok he has 880,000 followers. In the last month alone, his videos have racked tens of millions of views, surpassing even national Democratic figures such as Pete Buttigieg, Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
“I’ve talked to him about running for governor all session long, but he’s told me he’s looking at Senate instead,” said state Rep. Gina Hinojosa, another Austin Democrat.
“I think that he’s good at taking the fight to Republicans,” she said. “There’s probably no more vulnerable Republican statewide candidate than Ken Paxton, and Talarico has shown that he’s very adept at challenging and taking on Republicans on their weaknesses.”
The list of people who are “thinking about” a Senate race is considerably longer than what is shown above. Like Rep. Hinojosa. I would have encouraged Rep. Talarico to consider running for Governor, but he’s going to do what he’s going to do. I believe at least one person from the “maybe Senate” list will eventually run for something else.
Dems do have a candidate for Lite Guv in State Rep. Vikki Goodwin. With the legislative session over and fundraising now open, we’re likely to hear more announcements of retirements, re-elections, and candidacies for various offices. Fundraising will of course be a big deal – as noted Talarico had $638K on hand as of January; he’ll need to step that way up, and he’s got some time to make an impression for the July report if he’s serious. (Rep. Goodwin has $150K on hand, and as she is in for Lite Guv, she will definitely need to get it going.) Talarico has been successful on social media and that will help him. The Current and Reform Austin have more.