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.
It was night three of The People vs. Ken Paxton tour, as the Austin Democrat has dubbed his general election kickoff tour, and the line to get in outside 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.
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’Rourke’s campaign against U.S. Senator Ted Cruz back in 2018—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.
“I supported Beto. I had the shirt. I had the yard signs,” said Marcos Ozuna, an educator in Northside Independent School District and member of the American Federation of Teachers union. “But I think this is going to be the time.”
O’Rourke came just three points shy 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, the first time a Texas Democrat has polled better than Republicans in the Senate race since 2002, according to CNN. Like O’Rourke, Talarico has raised boatloads of campaign cash so far— over $40 million, including $3 million in the 24-hours after Paxton won the runoff—and the watchful gaze of both political parties seems to rest upon him with fear and anticipation.
The prevailing winds are arguably just as strong—if not more—for a Democrat like Talarico this cycle as they were in 2018. That’s further aided by the fact that he’s 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, has split members of the Republican Party.
Former Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan, who oversaw the AG’s impeachment, told Newsweek that he fears a blue wave down the ballot because some Republicans will never vote for Ken Paxton “under any circumstances.” At least one poll, by the Texas Public Opinion Research, affirms this, with 30 percent of surveyed Cornyn voters choosing Talarico over Paxton. Another 23 percent were undecided or said they wouldn’t vote at all. Just this week, Cornyn declined to retract his prior statements calling Paxton a “crook” who doesn’t belong in the U.S. Senate.
Talarico supporters line up to get into the Democratic Senate candidate’s campaign rally in San Antonio. (Photo by Eden Shamy)
At the rally, San Antonio state Representative Diego Bernal took the stage first as he fanned the flames of the Spurs playoff run, leading the crowd in chants of “Go Spurs go! Go James go!” He promised to take Talarico “honking,” 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.
Talarico’s opposition to private school vouchers and the defunding of public schools was a major sticking point 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. Ozuna is a reading specialist, and he said budget shortfalls have directly impacted himself and his students.
Talarico’s stump speech followed the usual route, swearing off money and corruption in politics while weaving 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 gave graceful nods to anti-fascism, grounding it in the sacrifices of the Greatest Generation who fought the Nazis in World War II. “The greatest among you will be a servant,” Talarico said, quoting the words of Jesus in Matthew 23:11. “That is a radical idea in a world obsessed with power, and wealth, and status.”
Many of Talarico’s supporters, Christian or otherwise, believe Talarico’s blend of theology with progressive and democratic values has the potency to take back Texas from the grips of conservative evangelicals.
“I’m a Christian myself, and he practices what he preaches. Jesus is all about taking care of one another, loving one another,” said Garcia, squinting her glittery blue-dusted eyes against the sun outside. She’s been a fan of Talarico since watching him debate in the Texas House. “He keeps his composure, always shows respect, does it with a smile, and it just makes me proud.”
Brendan Steinhauser, a GOP strategist in Texas, isn’t so confident that Talarico’s theology will land with swing voters. While both O’Rourke and Talarico are young, dynamic candidates that made the Senate race highly competitive, Steinhauser believes Talarico will have a harder time maneuvering around his past. “O’Rourke was a much fresher face, like he had more room to define himself.”
Since Talarico secured the Democratic nomination, Paxton has seized on past statements about trans kids and God being “nonbinary” to deride Talarico as a fake Texan, a fake Christian, and a radical leftist. Steinhauser said while Paxton should focus more on his accomplishments as attorney general, culture war issues remain a strong motivator among the moderate to conservative base. “Those words are going to get played in a loop all the way to November,” said Steinhauser. That’s a standard Republican playbook—in 2024, Ted Cruz’s campaign plastered the state with ads attacking Democratic challenger Colin Allred, who ultimately lost by about eight points, on the issue of transgender kids in sports.
Democratic strategist Matt Angle said the attacks are nothing but a weak distraction from Paxton’s corruption. Angle founded the Lone Star Project PAC and Texas Justice Fund, which are supporting Talarico and other Democratic campaigns. Talarico’s Christian values and big-tent campaign are the perfect foil to Paxton’s “idolatry, adultery, lying, stealing, and coveting,” Angle said.
“James Talarico is the grandson every MAGA grandma would like to have, and Ken Paxton is the grandson that gives them nightmares,” Angle said.
The Democratic base has already started to joyfully reclaim the cringe currently haunting Talarico’s campaign. Talarico told the San Antonio crowd that he launched “I’m a Talafreako” merchandise, which rally-goers were eager to get their hands on. A silvery-blonde volunteer wore dangly earrings with Talarico’s face on them and a pin that read “I freak out for James Talarico.”
Talarico’s general election launch tour has also taken him through Houston, Nacogdoches, Leander, and up in Paxton’s backyard of Collin County, where roughly 4,000 supporters reportedly packed into a Plano venue.
For Democrats in San Antonio, Talarico’s promise to expand affordable healthcare and fix the economy were top of mind. Garcia is a nurse, and she said patients can’t afford the medications and care they need. Ozuna said he hustles as a woodworker, electrician, and plumber during summer “break” because his teaching salary isn’t sufficient to cover costs. “I work more whenever I have time ‘off’ than I do whenever I am working in the classroom,” Ozuna said.
In both outright and subtle ways, Talarico denounced greedy capitalistic policies and the false promise of Ronald Reagan’s trickle-down economics. Talarico frames his agenda against billionaires and corporations as a spiritual battle of good versus evil, retelling the harrowing story of a worker who collapsed and died in an Amazon factory in April. “They told the workers to turn around. Don’t look, and get back to work,” Talarico said. “That was a child of God. That was a sibling of ours, sacrificed on the altar of corporate greed.”
With his closing remarks, he promised to go after the billionaire’s “top puppet” in Paxton and to raise people’s pay, cut taxes, and lower costs. He recited his final lines like a biblical mandate.
“There is something in the air. I am confident. I can feel it in my bones that we’re gonna win this election,” Talarico said. “And on November 3, the greatest among us will be the servants.”
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