Supporters cheer as James Talarico, the Democrats’ Senate nominee, speaks during a rally May 27 in Houston.
Jason Fochtman/Staff photographer
PLANO – James Talarico brought his Senate campaign Monday into Ken Paxton’s backyard.
The Democratic nominee rallied supporters in Collin County, betting that the fast-growing suburban county that helped launch Paxton’s political career is also fertile ground for independents, moderates and disaffected Republicans he needs to compete in November.
Talarico, an Austin state representative who got to the Legislature by flipping a GOP-held House seat, has built his campaign around an appeal to voters willing to cross party lines to stop Paxton.
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After the attorney general beat incumbent John Cornyn in the GOP Senate runoff last week, Talarico embarked on a multi-city tour aimed at making that case.
His event Monday at the Plano Event Center is dubbed “The People vs. Ken Paxton,” playing off Paxton’s legal and ethical troubles. More than 3,000 people were expected, making it the largest stop on Talarico’s campaign swing.
“We’ve got to build a coalition that includes everybody,” Talarico told The Dallas Morning News. “It’s independents, it’s Republicans who are disillusioned with the corruption and the extremism in our government.”
Whether Texas’ changing suburbs are ready to embrace a Democrat for statewide office remains one of the race’s biggest unknowns.
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Home turf
Local Republicans have mocked Talarico’s visit, even as some warned before the runoff that Paxton could put a once-safe Senate seat at risk and drag down other Republicans on the ballot.
Attorney General Ken Paxton and Democrat James Talarico, rivals in the campaign for Senate.
Tony Gutierrez Juan Figueroa/AP/The Dallas Morning News
Since then, much of the Republican establishment has rallied behind Paxton.
State Rep. Matt Shaheen, R-Prosper, who supported Cornyn in the Senate primary, predicted Paxton easily would win his home county. That’s where he was first elected to the Texas House and then the state Senate.
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Shaheen said Collin County voters don’t want liberals like Talarico who “mock God to push an extremist agenda that would be a disaster for Texas.” He dismissed Talarico’s visit as a political stunt.
“I’m glad Talarico is wasting his time in Collin County,” Shaheen said.
Suburban shift
Democrats see the county differently.
While Talarico hopes to win Collin County outright, Democrats say even a close loss could help his statewide prospects by cutting into GOP margins and boosting other party candidates.
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State Rep. Mihaela Plesa, the only Democrat in the Legislature who represents Collin County, said Democrats must do well in blue areas, while appealing to voters in the suburbs.
“Republicans are most afraid of the changes that they’re seeing in places like Collin County, in Denton County and in Tarrant County,” she said.
No Democrat has won Collin County in a presidential race since Lyndon B. Johnson’s victory in 1964. The last Democratic Senate candidate to carry the county was Lloyd Bentsen in 1988.
Still, Democrats are getting closer. President Joe Biden’s 46.9% in 2020 was the strongest Democratic presidential performance there since Johnson’s landslide six decades earlier.
In the 2024 Senate race, incumbent Republican Ted Cruz beat Democrat Colin Allred in Collin County, 52% to 46%.
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Plesa, who was set to introduce Talarico to the Plano crowd, said voters there are concerned about schools, the economy and other issues, and they are less receptive to GOP rhetoric she says seeks to divide Texans.
“They have an open mind and an open heart to hearing what other candidates have to say,” Plesa said.
She also said “the people of Collin County have been living with Ken Paxton’s indiscretions for a really long time,” a reference to the investigations and allegations that have dogged him for years.
Attorney General Ken Paxton waves to backers as he takes the stage during his election night watch party May 26 in Plano.
Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News
Attack lines
Republicans rejected the notion that Paxton is vulnerable there. And they have slammed Talarico as being out of step with Texas voters on religion, immigration and LGBTQ issues.
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Shaheen called Talarico “even nuttier than all the stuff circulating about him on social media.”
Talarico has dismissed similar attacks as efforts to distract from Paxton’s record and controversies.
While backing Cornyn, Shaheen warned that Talarico would “beat Paxton like a drum.” Now, he said, Paxton will have no trouble carrying Collin County.
“I’m going to do everything I can to ensure a huge Paxton victory,” Shaheen said.