Texas Democrat James Talarico was confronted by a constituent over alleged shortcomings in his outreach to Black voters, during a stop in his campaign to become the state’s next senator.
According to local reporting and videos shared across social media, the exchange occurred on Sunday when the state representative attempted to bring the question-and-answer section of his town hall in southwest Houston to a close. A woman who had been waiting to ask a question accused the Senate hopeful of failing to address the concerns of those who had traveled to be there and who would be critical to his success come November.
“Black people don’t trust you for this reason. And you cannot win without us,” the woman said. “So you stay here, you answer our questions, or you suffer the consequences.”
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Talarico attempted to ease the tension by telling the woman and the audience that he appreciated their attendance, adding that he was willing to stay after the event to answer questions in person.
“It’s all right. It’s all right. It’s all right,” Talarico said. “This is what this conversation is supposed to be about.”
Talarico also said during the town hall, “I’m committing to you here that we will be putting resources where our mouth is, and we’re going to be reaching out to these voters across the state so that we can win this race in November.”
Talarico’s campaign told Newsweek that the frustrations voiced by a few participants were not reflective of the overall atmosphere of the event, and that Talarico took questions for “more than 90 minutes” before the exchange that was captured on video. The campaign also pointed to June New York Times/Siena polling that showed Talarico holding a commanding lead over Paxton among Black voters, while outperforming Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinojosa and then-Vice President Kamala Harris’ 2024 showing with the same demographic.
What Led to the Heated Exchange?
According to remarks from Talarico quoted in the Houston Defender, Sunday afternoon’s town hall was intended to provide Houstonians with the opportunity to ask questions of the campaign while hearing more about the lawmaker’s plan to confront “Big Money and corruption” in D.C.
Talarico added that Black Texans—a group he failed to sway despite winning the Democratic primary in March—were a particular focus. According to The New York Times, U.S. Representative Jasmine Crockett—who ran against Talarico in the primary—secured over 86 percent of the votes from predominantly Black areas. Talarico, meanwhile, safely won the white and Latino vote, securing a 53 percent to 46 percent victory in the overall contest.
“We’re hoping to connect directly with Black Texans across the Houston area,” Talarico said ahead of the town hall. “We’ve seen just in the last year an unprecedented attack on Black Texans, whether it’s the attack on voting rights, the attack on public education, the attack on health care, or HBCUs [historically Black colleges and universities].”
The Houston Chronicle identified the woman who spoke up as Kandice Webber, an activist and organizer for the Houston wing of Black Lives Matter. Newsweek has contacted Webber via Facebook for comment outside regular working hours.
In the video, someone informs the crowd that Talarico would answer one more question, prompting audible frustration from parts of the audience. Following this, Webber tells Talarico directly that she drove 45 minutes to attend, wanted the event to be televised and would not leave until he answered her questions.
Talarico thanked Webber for attending the event, to which she replied, “I did it for my people, not for you.”
“That’s wonderful,” Talarico said in response, as murmurs spread through the audience and one member can be heard describing Webber’s remark as “very rude.”
What Did Webber Say After the Town Hall?
On Facebook, Webber shared a video from what she called Talarico’s “town hall for colored people,” which she captioned with criticisms about his campaign’s approach to Black voters and voter outreach.
“He has no real interest in improving the quality of life for Black Texas. He came to our city expecting this to be easy,” Webber wrote in the caption. “Black life is hard and if we take it easy on these white moderates who over promise and under deliver we are doing harm to our own communities.”
“We showed up like we said we would with questions, real questions,” Webber said in the video posted on Sunday, adding that “everyday Black people” are going to “sit this sh** out,” referring to November’s general election. Webber said that abstaining and allowing Talarico’s opponent, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, to reach the Senate would decrease the Republican’s “ability to terrorize and torture Black Texas voters.”
What Are Talarico’s Chances Against Paxton?
Despite Texas’ long Republican streak in statewide elections, recent contests have grown more competitive as population growth, suburban shifts and demographic changes narrowed Republican margins. And Democrats are hopeful that Talarico can be the first from their party to get elected to statewide office since 1994.
Recent polling indicates that there will be a close contest between Talarico and Paxton come November, with polls tracked by The New York Times giving single-digit edges to either depending on the pollster and when the survey was fielded.
The latest—an A2 Insights survey of 618 likely voters conducted June 23-28—gave Talarico a 48 percent edge over Paxton’s 46 percent, with the remainder either voting for a third option or unsure of their choice. A New York Times/Siena College poll, conducted among 656 likely voters between June 19 and 27, put both candidates at 47 percent.
The latest odds on the prediction market Polymarket weren’t as close, with users affording Paxton a 56 percent chance of victory to Talarico’s 44 percent chance.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Matthew Robinson and Shakeema Edwards.
Update 7/21/26, 4:44 a.m. ET: This article was updated with a response from Talarico’s campaign.