With hundreds of supporters in the audience and a disco ball spinning overhead, state Rep. James Talarico’s message ahead of the primary election day was that he will embody a ferocious “mama bear” type of love for Texans as U.S. senator.
Talarico, of Round Rock, is running in the U.S. Senate primary against U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett and Ahmad Hassan for the Democratic nomination. Whoever wins is likely to challenge one of the three most popular Republican candidates: incumbent John Cornyn, Attorney General Ken Paxton or U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt.
Early voting ends on Feb. 27, and Primary Election Day is on March 3.
Talarico’s 12-city “Take Back Texas Tour” made a joint stop for Dallas and Fort Worth on Wednesday, Feb. 25. Attendees were greeted by a 14-foot-tall longhorn statue and some sported their “I Voted” stickers to the rally inside Dallas’s Longhorn Ballroom.
Fresh off the heels of a Democrat flipping a historically-red state senate seat in Tarrant County that Talarico said “shocked the nation,” the next step is to “shock the world by flipping a U.S. Senate seat here.”
With a people-powered campaign aiming to fundamentally change politics, Talarico said he is confident he will do just that.
For too long, the billionaires have caused interpersonal division across the nation through playing games with the political system, the economy and social media, Talarico said.
“Our nation is so divided we can’t even share the Super Bowl anymore,” he said. “Two different halftime shows for two different Americas, living in two different realities.”
Talarico’s main focus comes from a Christian commandment: Love your neighbor.
“As I travel this state, I get the sense that there is a deep hunger for a different kind of politics,” Talarico said. “Not a politics of hate or fear or division, but a politics of love, a love for this state, for this country, and, most importantly, a love for all of our neighbors, a love that can heal what’s broken in this country.”
The kind of love that is not neutral or passive, Talarico said, is the strongest force in the universe.
“Hate is boring, hate is predictable,” Talarico said. “Hate can’t lower our energy bills. Hate can’t teach a child how to read. Hate can’t build a future. But what hate can’t do, love can.”
Though he isn’t religious, Tarrant County resident Mike LaFon said the message of love is a strong one that anyone can get behind. LaFon said he used to think of religion as a weakness in politics, but it’s hard to say anything bad about Talarico’s message of fierce, non-complacent love.
‘Tear down’ ICE
The biggest cheer of the night came when Talarico said it’s time to get rid of the “secret police” and punish those responsible for “terrorizing our neighbors.”
ICE needs to be replaced with a police force focused on public safety, not scaring the country into submission, Talarico said.
Political influencer Carlos Eduardo Espina, who introduced Talarico, said voters have a responsibility to be the vessel for those who have been detained by ICE and the Latino children who aren’t old enough to understand what’s happening around them.
Talarico said the federal government wants citizens to be afraid of voicing their dissent, and that’s why they are disappearing people with masked men in unmarked vehicles in what should be safe spaces.
It should not be the people fearing the government, Talarico said, but the inverse.
Talarico said in today’s nation, it is easy to grieve the freedom and peace that once was, but grief is fertile soil, and resistance starts with a refusal to mirror hate.
This story was originally published February 25, 2026 at 11:59 PM.
Related Stories from Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Rachel Royster is a news and government reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, specifically focused on Tarrant County. She joined the newsroom after interning at the Austin American-Statesman, the Waco Tribune-Herald and Capital Community News in DC. A Houston native and Baylor grad, Rachel enjoys traveling, reading and being outside. She welcomes any and all news tips to her email.