Democrats are looking to James Talarico to break Republicans’ decades-long hold on Texas, with polling leads, strong fundraising and large campaign crowds fueling their hopes ahead of the Nov. 3 election. The former teacher and Presbyterian seminarian faces Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, whose campaign has drawn support from President Donald Trump and substantial spending by outside groups.
Talarico’s polling leads exceed those recorded against Sen. Ted Cruz in 2018, when Democrat Beto O’Rourke came closer to winning a Texas Senate seat than any Democrat had in decades. Talarico also collected $64 million from July through September, more than three times Paxton’s $18 million during that period. His total fundraising since entering the race has surpassed $146 million.
Paxton has benefited from more than $200 million poured into Texas by Republican outside groups supporting his candidacy, with nearly all that money supplied by Elon Musk. Separately, MAGA Inc., Trump’s principal super PAC, has spent $33.7 million on advertisements supporting Paxton, according to AdImpact. At a Dallas rally on Thursday, Talarico invoked the biblical story of David and Goliath to portray supporters as his means of challenging powerful interests.
The Democrat’s campaign stops earlier in the week included El Paso, Midland and Amarillo before a Tuesday appearance in heavily Republican Lubbock. His campaign said more than 4,000 people registered for that rally, requiring a larger venue. Trump appeared with Paxton roughly four miles away the same evening and changed his rally’s timing to overlap with Talarico’s event.
At Lubbock’s Fiesta Center on Oct. 27, Talarico acknowledged the competing gathering and thanked the crowd. He also used the nickname “Talafreako,” which Republicans and Trump initially employed as an insult but which the candidate and his supporters have adopted. Several attendees interviewed by Fox News Digital interpreted Trump’s repeated appearances in Texas as evidence that Republicans were worried about the contest.
Paxton supporters expressed confidence that Texas would remain Republican despite an expensive, contentious primary. That contest divided Republicans between Paxton and incumbent Sen. John Cornyn, who lost in the May runoff. Outside the Trump and Paxton rally, Jenny, a supporter from Brownsville, told Fox News Digital she did not consider the general election race close and expected Paxton to win decisively.
Some Talarico supporters in Dallas and Lubbock said Paxton’s legal controversies and impeachment by the Texas House influenced their preferences. Lori, a Dallas voter who previously voted Republican, told Fox News Digital that honesty, decency and integrity motivated her support for Talarico. Other attendees praised his authenticity and policies or criticized Paxton’s leadership and reliance on Trump.
The remaining test for Talarico is whether his polling advantage and enthusiastic audiences translate into enough votes on Nov. 3. A win would disrupt Republican dominance in Texas, while defeat would extend Democrats’ efforts to find a winning statewide path.
