James Talarico, a Democratic state lawmaker from Texas with a surging national profile, on Tuesday jumped into the Lone Star State’s high-profile and combustible Senate race.
Talarico, a state representative, former middle school teacher, and Presbyterian seminarian who is considered a rising star among Democrats, becomes the second major contender from his party to launch a campaign in the race for the seat currently held by longtime Republican Sen. John Cornyn.
Democrats believe they have a shot of flipping the seat as Cornyn trails scandal-scarred Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in most of the latest GOP Senate primary polls.
“The biggest divide in our country is not left vs right — it’s top vs bottom. Billionaire mega-donors and their puppet politicians have taken over our state and our country, rigging the system for themselves,” Talarico said in a statement shared with Fox News as he announced his candidacy. “I’m running for the U.S. Senate to bring people together and take power back for working Texans.”
Talarico painted himself as an underdog, saying he’s “going up against the political establishment, and we’re going up against a lot of money. Big Money is powerful, but it’s nothing compared to people power.”
Former Democratic Rep. Colin Allred launched a Senate campaign in July. Allred, a former college football star who later played in the National Football League, was the 2024 Democratic Senate nominee in Texas, losing to conservative firebrand Sen. Ted Cruz by eight points.
Former astronaut Terry Virts is also running for the Democratic Senate nomination.
And former Rep. Beto O’Rourke, who came close to defeating Cruz in 2018 before running unsuccessfully for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020 and Texas governor in 2022, hasn’t ruled out a Senate bid.
Democrats have long aimed to turn red-state Texas purple but have repeatedly fallen short in statewide elections.
Along with Cruz’s comfortable re-election last year, President Donald Trump carried Texas by over 13 percentage points, besting his single-digit victory margins in the state in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections.
But Democrats see a pathway to victory in the 2026 general election if Paxton, who enjoys strong support among the GOP’s MAGA base, ousts Cornyn in the Republican primary next March.
Talarico, who speaks openly about his faith and how it shapes his progressive policy agenda, has garnered national attention through a slew of social media appearances that went viral.
Also boosting his profile are his TikTok videos, which have grabbed millions of views, and his appearance in July on Joe Rogan’s top-rated podcast.
Rogan suggested during the interview that Talarico should run for president.
Earlier this summer, Talarico was a regular on the cable news networks, conducting dozens of national media interviews, as he and dozens of his fellow Democrats in the Texas House fled the state for weeks, to delay the eventual Trump-led redistricting push in Texas to create up to five more right-leaning congressional seats.
Talarico, 36, will kick off his campaign with a rally Tuesday evening in his hometown of Round Rock, Texas, which is located north of Austin.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee, the Senate GOP’s campaign arm, targeted Talarico as “an out-of-touch Harvard liberal,” as it pointed to the candidate’s master’s degree.
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