{"id":445080,"date":"2026-09-23T11:56:09","date_gmt":"2026-09-23T11:56:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/445080\/"},"modified":"2026-09-23T11:56:09","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T11:56:09","slug":"talarico-works-to-reach-black-voters-in-his-bid-to-win-a-us-senate-seat-as-a-democrat-in-texas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/445080\/","title":{"rendered":"Talarico Works to Reach Black Voters in His Bid to Win a US Senate Seat as a Democrat in Texas"},"content":{"rendered":"

HOUSTON (AP) \u2014 Juli McShay had a few pointed questions for James Talarico<\/a>, the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate in Texas<\/a>, when she stood up during a town hall in Houston. <\/p>\n

Black audiences like this one are key to Talarico’s effort to defeat Republican state Attorney General Ken Paxton<\/a> and become the first Democrat to win a statewide race in Texas since 1994. But McShay’s questions represented lingering apprehension about his campaign’s outreach.<\/p>\n

She told Talarico, who’s white, that she and others had given his campaign ideas for engaging Black voters yet \u201cit has never happened.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re saying one thing, but we\u2019re waiting on the action,\u201d said McShay, who’s a political science professor.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to ask for two contradictory things,\u201d responded Talarico, adding that he had implemented some ideas and more were coming. \u201cOne is patience. The other is urgency.\u201d<\/p>\n

That was in July. Polls over the summer indicated that a large majority of Black voters already supported Talarico, but the candidate<\/a> has labored to expand that and erase any doubt, saying he wants to make sure the Democratic Party doesn’t continue taking Black voters for granted<\/a>. <\/p>\n

His campaign announced what it described as a historic investment of $25 million to reach Black voters in Texas. He has also received an endorsement from the political arm of the Congressional Black Caucus and elected leaders, hired veteran Black political operatives and Black-owned firms, visited Black churches and businesses and appeared on Black media shows. <\/p>\n

Two months after McShay confronted Talarico, she said she’s been encouraged by some of the candidate’s decisions. She’s working on what she calls a report card to publish in the Houston outlet the Forward Times.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s not getting an A+,\u201d she said, but maybe a \u201cC or a B.\u201d <\/p>\n

Talarico won a complicated primary\n <\/p>\n

Talarico beat U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, who is Black, in the Democratic primary<\/a>. Crockett had faced some racially charged attacks on social media, creating some raw feelings during the race.<\/p>\n

Although Talarico had welcomed her to the primary and said \u201cwe will always treat Crockett with the utmost respect,” McShay said she wanted him to come down harder against online posters’ vitriol. <\/p>\n

So she asked about that, too, at the town hall, and Talarico replied with a sharper edge. \u201cIf you claim to be my supporter, if you claim to be a part of this movement that we are building, please keep Congressman Crockett\u2019s name out of your mouth,” he said to some applause. \u201cShe is a leader in the state, she\u2019s a leader in this country, and she deserves the utmost respect.\u201d<\/p>\n

Talarico’s outreach to Black communities, getting people energized and to the polls in November, is also working against some of the residual wariness from voters like Edward Richard, which is applied to most Democratic politicians.<\/p>\n

Richard said in July that he will likely vote for Talarico, but he wanted to see more of him to answer a boiled-down question: \u201cAre you for us?\u201d The answer wouldn’t necessarily change his vote, but it could spark an enthusiasm that he said would push him to attend rallies and talk up Talarico to his friends and church colleagues.<\/p>\n

\u2018Our concern is about our people\u2019\n <\/p>\n

Richard and his wife, both in their 70s, lived through the Civil Rights Movement, the Voting Rights Act and the politicians who touched down in their neighborhoods just long enough to fix the cracks in the street ahead of an election, returning only when it was time to vote again.<\/p>\n

Now, they said, there are food deserts and food swamps \u2014 a glut of fast-food restaurants \u2014 and thefts at the grocery store. Their son was pulled over for no clear reason, and police sat him down in wet grass. When someone calls in hazardous tree limbs or problems with sewage or running water, Richard said, \u201cno one comes out for days, for months.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd so, you know, our concern is about our people,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re looking for the candidate that\u2019s going to at least meet us halfway, at least listen to us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Talarico is facing a similar \u201ckind of a litmus test that Black communities put on every politician, if they\u2019re white, brown and even Black,” said Houston-area U.S. Rep. Christian Menefee, a Democrat who has campaigned with Talarico.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has been intentional in coming into Black spaces and humbling himself to hear feedback, whether it be positive or constructive, and is working to earn people\u2019s votes,\u201d he said, adding that he couldn\u2019t think of another statewide candidate in a general election who has done more to reach Black communities.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I see people in other states who are tweeting, \u2018Oh, James Talarico is going to have a problem in Houston,\u2019 I\u2019m like, \u2018Did you come to Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church with me the other day? Because he sure got a rousing applause,\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

McShay is finalizing her report card\n <\/p>\n

One of the requests from an attendee at the town hall was for Talarico to attend in Houston a Sunday Funday, when younger generations spend time together on the last day of a weekend. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe did it,” said McShay. “He went to a couple of places and engaged people, and I know some people are like, \u2018That\u2019s pandering,\u2019 but that\u2019s the role of someone running for office: They\u2019re all pandering for votes.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the political operatives Talarico’s campaign brought on board was Delilah Agho-Otoghile, a hire that McShay said would be listed as an achievement on the report card. McShay said she can identify which campaign events Agho-Otoghile has been behind because of the \u201cintentionality.”<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has improved. He\u2019s done many of the things. Is there still room for improvement? Yes,\u201d said McShay, noting that she’s waiting to see where and how that $25 million is spent.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 The\u00a0Associated Press<\/a>. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.<\/p>\n

The Month in Photos: Sept. 2026<\/p>\n

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