raising money<\/a> and strengthening the campaign operation he\u2019ll need to help Democrats secure their first statewide victory since 1994.\u00a0<\/p>\nThe campaign has already attracted high-profile Democrats, including former President Barack Obama, who joined Talarico for tacos in Austin.<\/p>\n
Talarico\u2019s resources give him a cushion, and he\u2019s already planned a multi-city swing through Texas, generating attention immediately after the GOP runoff.<\/p>\n
Defining Talarico early<\/p>\n
![\"Attorney]()
<\/p>\n
Attorney General Ken Paxton and Sen. John\u00a0Cornyn, bitter rivals in the GOP runoff for the Senate.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Elias Valverde II Jason Fochtman\/The Dallas Morning News, Houston<\/p>\n
Republicans are already branding Talarico as too liberal for Texas, hoping to shape voters\u2019 first impressions before the fall campaign begins in earnest.<\/p>\n
Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n
President Donald Trump repeatedly has mocked Talarico as a \u201cvegan,\u201d a label the Democrat\u2019s campaign rejects.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cornyn has warned Talarico backs the \u201cmost woke agenda Texas has ever seen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Paxton has referred to the Democrat as \u201cTofu Talarico,\u201d while a pro-Paxton super PAC is running ads calling Talarico \u201cLow-T Talarico. Too weak for Texas.\u201d<\/p>\n
At a Cornyn rally in The Colony, state Rep. Jeff Leach of Allen called Talarico the \u201cmost liberal, progressive, dangerous Democrat we have ever seen in Texas.\u201d At the same event, state Rep. Matt Shaheen of Prosper said Talarico is even \u201cnuttier\u201d than Republicans already claim.<\/p>\n
Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n
Trump sets the tone<\/p>\n
Trump\u2019s mocking of Talarico is not unexpected.\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"President]()
<\/p>\n
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before he boards Air Force One on March 13, 2026,\u00a0for a trip to Florida.<\/p>\n
Mark Schiefelbein\/AP<\/p>\n
His late endorsement of Paxton shook up the Senate race, brushing aside concerns from some Republicans that Paxton, as the nominee, would put the critical Senate seat at risk.<\/p>\n
Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n
Part of Trump\u2019s calculation appears rooted in the belief that Talarico is less formidable than he has been portrayed.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cThe Democrats have a weird candidate,\u201d Trump said earlier this month.<\/p>\n
\nSeeking unity\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
After more than a year of Republican infighting over loyalty, scandal and electability, the runoff winner will face pressure to unify a fractured GOP coalition and redirect its energy toward Democrats.<\/p>\n
Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and others have urged Republicans to put aside grudges and rally around the nominee.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That task becomes easier as Republicans cast Talarico as too far left for suburban moderates and independent voters already worn down by months of GOP warfare.<\/p>\n
Democrats see an opening<\/p>\n
![\"Michael]()
<\/p>\n
Michael Sorrell, (left) president of Paul Quinn College, shakes hand with Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico after he delivered the college’s commencement address May 2 in Dallas.<\/p>\n
Shafkat Anowar\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
Talarico and Texas Democrats are expected to answer by ripping the Republican nominee as being more focused on partisan wrangling than issues like affordability, schools and health care.<\/p>\n
Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n
Many Democrats viewed Paxton, with years of ethical controversies and legal and personal distractions trailing him, as the easier opponent. Still, throughout most of his campaign, Talarico argued that Cornyn had \u201csold out\u201d Texans through his embrace of Trump and MAGA policies.<\/p>\n
After Trump endorsed Paxton, Talarico said it didn\u2019t matter who he faces. He said Cornyn and Paxton both represent \u201ca broken politics that enriches wealthy donors while costs skyrocket for the rest of us.\u201d<\/p>\n
That message, that Republicans are out of touch with everyday economic pressures facing Texans, is expected to become central to his strategy moving forward.<\/p>\n
Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n
And he\u2019ll have the money to sell it.<\/p>\n
Talarico is poised to shatter fundraising records for a Texas Democrat as he bets voter frustration with Trump and the traditional midterm backlash can finally end Republicans\u2019 30-year statewide winning streak.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"James Talarico, the Democratic nominee for the Senate, is preparing for a new wave of Republican attacks as…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":310453,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[102,104,103,145,288,287,292,65228],"class_list":["post-310452","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-dallas","tag-dallas","tag-dallas-headlines","tag-dallas-news","tag-donald-trump","tag-elections","tag-politics","tag-texas-politics","tag-texas-primary-elections"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/310452","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=310452"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/310452\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/310453"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=310452"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=310452"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=310452"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}