Former President Obama on Tuesday met with Texas state Rep. James Talarico (D) in the Lone Star State to support his Senate campaign.<\/p>\n
The former president met with Talarico and Democratic state Rep. Gina Hinojosa, who is running for Texas governor, at a taco shop in Austin, according to The Associated Press<\/a>.<\/p>\n The group went from booth to booth, greeting families to bolster support for their campaigns ahead of the general election, The Texas Tribune<\/a> reported.<\/p>\n Talarico\u2019s parents, sister and baby niece joined him at the restaurant near the University of Texas at Austin to help greet guests per the outlet.<\/p>\n Throughout their time at the local taco shop, Obama referred to both Hinojosa and Talarico as the Lone Star State\u2019s \u201cnext governor and senator,\u201d The Texas Tribune said.<\/p>\n Talarico won<\/a> the Democratic nomination for the upper chamber in March and, if elected, would become the first party member<\/a> to represent the state as a U.S. Senator since 1993.<\/p>\n The Democrat will either face off against incumbent Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) or Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) in November.<\/p>\n Polls show Talarico has gained more traction than his potential competitors.<\/p>\n In an April Texas Public Opinion Research<\/a> survey, Talarico had 44 percent support from likely voters, compared to 41 percent for Cornyn.<\/p>\n Eleven percent of respondents say they\u2019re undecided.<\/p>\n In a hypothetical match-up against Texas Attorney General\u00a0Ken Paxton\u00a0<\/a>(R), the Democratic candidate\u2019s advantage widens to 5 points, 46 percent to 41 percent, with just 9 percent of respondents undecided.<\/p>\n The former president\u2019s impact resonated positively<\/a> with voters who elected Govs. Mikie Sherill (D-N.J.) and Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) after he boosted them last year.<\/p>\n Talarico said he was thankful that Obama attempted to do the same in the Texas Senate race.<\/p>\n \u201cThank you for coming to Texas, Mr. President,\u201d Talarico wrote in a Tuesday post <\/a>on X.<\/p>\n Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.<\/p>\n