The winner of the March 3 primary will be up against the Republican nominee in the November election. Republican incumbent U.S. Sen. John Cornyn is running against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt.<\/p>\n
The Corpus Christi town hall was hosted by the Talarico campaign at the downtown Holiday Inn.\u00a0He was introduced by former Nueces County Judge Barbara Canales, who said she is inspired by Talarico and described him as \u201cthat man of faith I hear all the time on that Instagram.\u201d<\/p>\n
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State Rep. James Talarico, a candidate for U.S. Senate in the Democratic primary, discussed immigration and education during a campaign stop on Jan. 26 in Corpus Christi.<\/p>\n
Asked\u00a0what he plans to do after the primary, Talarico said that he and Crockett are \u201con the same team\u201d and that if she wins the primary, he will be behind her \u201c1,000%.\u201d<\/p>\n
Crockett\u2019s stop in Corpus Christi was hosted by Indivisible Coastal Bend.\u00a0Crockett\u2019s remarks at the event\u00a0addressed\u00a0health care\u00a0and the Jan. 7 shooting of Renee Good by an immigration agent in Minneapolis, which happened three days before her stop in Corpus Christi.<\/p>\n
Talarico\u2019s visit to Corpus Christi came two days after an immigration agent killed Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.<\/p>\n
At the beginning of his remarks, Talarico discussed the deaths and deportations in Minnesota. He called for the replacement of U.S. Immigration and Customs\u00a0Enforcement, which he characterized\u00a0as a secret\u00a0police force, with an agency \u201cthat is actually going to focus on public safety,\u201d as well as the impeachment of U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.<\/p>\n
Talarico, a former teacher,\u00a0also shared about the impacts of education funding cuts on students, including a child\u00a0who Talarico said\u00a0was failed.\u00a0Talarico\u00a0recalled watching the child be restrained and carried out of school screaming after he got in a fight after his school therapist was fired due to budget cuts.<\/p>\n
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Former Nueces County Judge Barbara Canales introduces state Rep. James Talarico, a candidate for U.S. Senate in the Democratic primary, at a campaign stop on Jan. 26 in Corpus Christi.<\/p>\n
\u201cI promised myself that if I ever got a little bit of influence or a little bit of power, I would do everything I possibly could to stop that from happening again,\u201d Talarico said.<\/p>\n
This inspired him to run for the state Legislature.<\/p>\n
Talarico said he believes that public school teachers should all make at least $100,000\u00a0and that early childhood education and pre-K should be universal, available to all children.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the wealthiest country in history, we have teachers who are driving Ubers at night to make extra money,\u201d Talarico said. \u201cWe have teachers who are selling their own plasma to make ends meet. It is unacceptable in this rich nation\u00a0to have our teachers going to these extraordinary lengths just to provide for their own families.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said that he has been disappointed by the \u201cspinelessness\u201d of the national Democratic Party.<\/p>\n
Talarico expressed support for reform, including banning super\u00a0PACs, ending\u00a0gerrymandering, overhauling the U.S. Supreme\u00a0Court\u00a0and requiring members of Congress to hold public town halls in their districts.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve\u00a0also said that as much as I care about education and health care and the environment, the thing we\u00a0have to\u00a0prioritize before\u00a0all of\u00a0those issues is comprehensive political reform,\u201d Talarico said.<\/p>\n
Talarico touted several successful bills he wrote and supported in the Texas Legislature, including to allow inmates in the juvenile justice system to graduate with a high school diploma, expand early childhood education and address the affordability of medication.<\/p>\n