Democratic U.S. Senate nominee James Talarico is making his latest trip through Houston on Wednesday, rallying college students, union workers and local Democrats in hopes that historic turnout in the area can carry him to victory in November.
Talarico consistently is polling above his Republican opponent, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, but will need significant Democratic turnout in Texas’ largest county to become the first Democrat elected to statewide office in more than 30 years. Wednesday’s extensive tour through Houston took Talarico first to the University of Houston for a rally with hundreds of students, and then to a voter outreach event with the Harris County Democratic Party later in the afternoon.
Talarico also planned to host a rally with representatives from the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers union in the early evening before heading to Fort Bend County for one final campaign event.
“We’re the largest county in Texas so Harris County is critical, pivotal for any statewide candidate to win,” said Traci Gibson, chair of the Harris County Democratic Party. “We’re happy Talarico is here, especially during early voting.”
Hundreds of students were queued up well before Talarico’s event was scheduled to begin at the Hilton Hotel at UH, waiting in a U-shaped line that stretched all the way around the building’s perimeter hallway. State Rep. Jolanda Jones, D-Houston, revved up the crowd with chants of “Whose house? Coogs’ House!” Other speakers included Harris County Attorney Abbie Kamin, Democratic state House District 138 candidate Tyler Smith and former U.S. Congressman Adam Kinzinger, R-Illinois.
The loudest cheers were reserved for Talarico, who likened the homestretch of the Senate race to the final drive of a football game, keeping with the “Clears Eyes, Full Hearts” campaign theme that he has borrowed from the classic television show “Friday Night Lights,” which is set in West Texas.
“They are scared, they are terrified, they see what we see: that we’re about to win this election,” Talarico said.
Kinzinger, a Republican who represented Illinois in Congress between 2011 and 2023, said he was campaigning for Talarico because he felt that Paxton represented the rot that had infected his party under President Donald Trump. He said there are likely many Texas Republicans who agree that voting for Paxton — who has battled impeachment, bribery allegations and federal fraud charges — feels “dirty and wrong,” and encouraged them to vote their conscience.
“Nobody has to know who you vote for. The question is, do you want your kids or your grandkids to be raised in a country where self-enrichment is part of what politics is about?” Kinzinger said. “If you want that, OK, but I don’t think any Republicans do.”
Talarico’s campaign tour continues Thursday along the Gulf Coast with scheduled appearances in Beaumont and Galveston.