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Lily Huynh\/The Cougar<\/p>\n
Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico visited the Hilton Hotel at UH on Oct. 21 to discuss his campaign for the November midterm election.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
As part of this tour, Talarico stopped by the Hilton Ballroom at UH to discuss his politics, hopes for Texas\u2019 future and what his campaign believes Texas needs, drawing a large crowd of UH students.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Talarico\u2019s campaign has attracted many young voters due to his down-to-Earth demeanor and talking points, according to students.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been following him for a long time, I\u2019m a big supporter of Talarico and voted for him this time a couple of days ago,\u201d said music education junior Julian Garcia.<\/p>\n
Talarico\u2019s political debut <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
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.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis election is especially important because we have the chance to flip the state,\u201d Garcia said. \u201cIt\u2019s been red for 30 something years now, and Talarico\u2019s a really strong candidate.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018Us versus the billionaires\u2019: Flip Texas to blue<\/p>\n
The stress from President Donald Trump\u2019s administration has also led young voters to support Talarico\u2019s ideals.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like it\u2019s more important with the presidency that we\u2019re in now,\u201d said teaching and learning junior Marina Sanchez. \u201cWe definitely need to flip Texas blue.\u201d<\/p>\n
The idea of flipping the state has become a big addition to Talarico\u2019s campaign, in direct opposition to his opponent, Texas Attorney General and Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think Paxton\u2019s record speaks for him, right?\u201d said Chair of the Harris County Democratic Party Tracy Gibson. \u201cNot only was he impeached by his own party, but his own staff reported him to the FBI for bribery.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
According to Talarico, Paxton\u2019s campaign has been funded by Elon Musk for the sole purpose of keeping Texas a red state. Talarico has labeled this election as \u2018us versus the billionaires\u2019.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Money talks, affordability<\/p>\n
Overall prices and affordability have also been critical to Talarico\u2019s campaign.<\/p>\n
\u201cGas prices need to go down, grocery prices need to go down,\u201d Gibson said. \u201cHe\u2019s going to keep corporate money out of politics, which is why you see all of these millions being spent, so he\u2019s going to go there and fight for both of us.\u201d<\/p>\n
This ideology has not only inspired the young voters at the event, but it has also inspired other candidates running for offices.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI was just a student a few years ago at Texas Southern University, and it\u2019s candidates like James Talarico who inspired me back in 2018 when Beto O\u2019Rourke ran,\u201d said Democratic candidate for Texas State House District 138 Tyler Smith.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Smith agrees with the notion that Republicans are using corporate funding to keep Democratic candidates down during this election.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThey 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,\u201d Smith said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
David versus Goliath<\/p>\n
Talarico closed off the event by comparing the Democratic party and voters of Texas to David in the Biblical story of David versus Goliath. <\/p>\n
According to Talarico, the story\u2019s message of the underdog beating the behemoth is accurate to how blue voters in red Texas have felt the past 30 years.<\/p>\n
While closing off, he also repeated the name of the tour, which doubles as the motto of Texas-based football series \u201cFriday Night Lights.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cClear eyes, full hearts, can\u2019t lose,\u201d Talarico said.<\/p>\n
The event drew a large crowd of voters in anticipation of early election voting this week and the general election date on Nov. 3.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI love his saying that it\u2019s not left or right, it\u2019s us versus the top,\u201d Gibson said. \u201cHe\u2019s going to make sure that we all have affordable prices and that we can all be able to live the American dream.\u201d<\/p>\n
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