Lily Huynh/The Cougar

Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico visited the Hilton Hotel at UH on Oct. 21 to discuss his campaign for the November midterm election. 

With early voting already started as of Oct. 19 and the general election date on Nov. 3, there has been an increase in political ads and outreach from campaigns. 

For Talarico, his campaign has been promoting a Clear Eyes Full Hearts Tour, where they travel to different cities and target college campuses to discuss the election as it comes closer.

As part of this tour, Talarico stopped by the Hilton Ballroom at UH to discuss his politics, hopes for Texas’ future and what his campaign believes Texas needs, drawing a large crowd of UH students. 

Talarico’s campaign has attracted many young voters due to his down-to-Earth demeanor and talking points, according to students.

“I’ve been following him for a long time, I’m a big supporter of Talarico and voted for him this time a couple of days ago,” said music education junior Julian Garcia.

Talarico’s political debut

According to Talarico, his start in politics came from his time as a middle school teacher, where he was looking to buy seats for his students, but was unable to get funding.

As he discussed this, he brought up the point that while this is the richest part of the country, students were nonetheless without chairs. Many students who attended the event said they thought the same and wanted to change Texas from Republican to Democrat. 

“This election is especially important because we have the chance to flip the state,” Garcia said. “It’s been red for 30 something years now, and Talarico’s a really strong candidate.”

‘Us versus the billionaires’: Flip Texas to blue

The stress from President Donald Trump’s administration has also led young voters to support Talarico’s ideals.

“I feel like it’s more important with the presidency that we’re in now,” said teaching and learning junior Marina Sanchez. “We definitely need to flip Texas blue.”

The idea of flipping the state has become a big addition to Talarico’s campaign, in direct opposition to his opponent, Texas Attorney General and Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton.

“I think Paxton’s record speaks for him, right?” said Chair of the Harris County Democratic Party Tracy Gibson. “Not only was he impeached by his own party, but his own staff reported him to the FBI for bribery.”  

According to Talarico, Paxton’s campaign has been funded by Elon Musk for the sole purpose of keeping Texas a red state. Talarico has labeled this election as ‘us versus the billionaires’. 

Money talks, affordability

Overall prices and affordability have also been critical to Talarico’s campaign.

“Gas prices need to go down, grocery prices need to go down,” Gibson said. “He’s going to keep corporate money out of politics, which is why you see all of these millions being spent, so he’s going to go there and fight for both of us.”

This ideology has not only inspired the young voters at the event, but it has also inspired other candidates running for offices. 

“I was just a student a few years ago at Texas Southern University, and it’s candidates like James Talarico who inspired me back in 2018 when Beto O’Rourke ran,” said Democratic candidate for Texas State House District 138 Tyler Smith. 

Smith agrees with the notion that Republicans are using corporate funding to keep Democratic candidates down during this election. 

“They are afraid that when Democrats get into power, that they are going to lose the corporate spine of these Republicans that they have in office right now,” Smith said. 

David versus Goliath

Talarico closed off the event by comparing the Democratic party and voters of Texas to David in the Biblical story of David versus Goliath.

According to Talarico, the story’s message of the underdog beating the behemoth is accurate to how blue voters in red Texas have felt the past 30 years.

While closing off, he also repeated the name of the tour, which doubles as the motto of Texas-based football series “Friday Night Lights.”

“Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose,” Talarico said.

The event drew a large crowd of voters in anticipation of early election voting this week and the general election date on Nov. 3. 

“I love his saying that it’s not left or right, it’s us versus the top,” Gibson said. “He’s going to make sure that we all have affordable prices and that we can all be able to live the American dream.”

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