{"id":481405,"date":"2026-10-30T13:26:41","date_gmt":"2026-10-30T13:26:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/481405\/"},"modified":"2026-10-30T13:26:41","modified_gmt":"2026-10-30T13:26:41","slug":"talarico-calls-on-dfw-to-get-dems-over-the-goal-line-at-dallas-rally","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/481405\/","title":{"rendered":"Talarico calls on DFW to get Dems over the goal line at Dallas rally"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"James
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tTalarico is in an extremely close race with Greg Abbott.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Austin Wood<\/p>\n

Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico <\/a>called on North Texans to help him and the rest of the ticket cross the Election Day goal line at his last major North Texas event Thursday night.<\/p>\n

The rally was held as a joint event with Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinojosa<\/a>. Inside a crowded, energetic Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center hall, Talarico quoted \u201cFriday Night Lights\u201d and told supporters it was time for a final push as part of his \u201cClear Eyes, Full Hearts Tour.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDallas, we have five days to win this election,\u201d Talarico said. \u201cWe have to execute. We have to leave it all on the field. We have to win. Our fellow Texans are counting on us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Scores of people packed together for what may be both candidates\u2019 final major event in Dallas. Both are expected to spend the weekend campaigning in other major metros before landing in their Central Texas bases of support to spend Election Night. <\/p>\n

Sign up for the This Week\u2019s Top Stories newsletter to get the latest stories delivered to your inbox<\/p>\n

THANK YOU!<\/p>\n

You’re all set.<\/p>\n

CLOSE\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Talarico narrowly leads Republican Ken Paxton in most polls. After trailing incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott by wide margins for most of the race, Hinojosa has gained ground<\/a> on the three-term governor in recent weeks as national Democrat groups begin investing money in her campaign. <\/p>\n

Democratic statewide candidates will have to rely on healthy voter enthusiasm from the state\u2019s largest metro areas. Dallas County set an all-time Day 1 early voting record last week, while Travis, Bexar and Harris counties have all shattered midterm records. Cal Jillson, a professor of political science at Southern Methodist University, told the Observer earlier this week that turnout patterns look promising for Democrats<\/a>, who will need urban voters to keep showing up.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the last play of the last drive,\u201d Talarico said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Talarico and Hinojosa would be the first Democrats to hold the offices since 1988 and 1994, respectively.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Willie, LBJ and Beyonce
\n\"\"<\/p>\n

One of the many signs at the Dallas rally for James Talarico and Gina Hinojosa<\/p>\n

Along with Dillon High\u2019s Coach Taylor, Talarico evoked the names of other prominent Texans to stir the crowd, including former President Lyndon Baines Johnson, former Gov. Ann Richards, Willie Nelson, Beyonce, Bobby Pulido and Sam Houston. Even figures born well outside of Texas, like David and Goliath, got a shoutout.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe didn\u2019t have as many weapons, but he had hope. He had faith, and he had a slingshot,\u201d Talarico said of the small but mighty warrior from the Bible. \u201cDallas, you are my slingshot.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another name became a central theme throughout. Both campaigns have featured strong populist sentiments<\/a> as the Democrats from all ends of the ticket position the midterm elections as a battleground between the ultra-wealthy rich and working families. Paxton and Abbott were again attacked for corruption while in office, while Republican megadonor and almost-trillionaire Elon Musk was targeted by both top-ticket candidates. A judge recently sided with Hinojosa and ordered the state to release communications between her opponent and the world\u2019s wealthiest man. Abbott\u2019s campaign has appealed the ruling<\/a>, citing \u201cintimate and embarrassing\u201d information.<\/p>\n

\u201cElon Musk wants our land,\u201d Talarico said. \u201cHe wants our water. He wants our tax dollars. He wants his very own personal United States senator. He is trying to buy Texas, but on November 3, we are going to deliver a crystal-clear message to the world\u2019s first trillionaire: Texas is not for sale.\u201d<\/p>\n

Talarico boasted of an underdog campaign supported by grassroots fundraising and everyday Texans, contrasting himself with Republican candidates who have relied on billionaires like Musk to finance late-in-the-day advertising blitzes around the state. The tech titan has pumped at least $158 million<\/a> into the Senate campaign, although most of his funding has gone through Super PACs, which cannot directly coordinate with Paxton\u2019s campaign.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In the second part of what the Observer called a \u201cmixtape\u201d of untimely leaks that began in early October, Paxton admitted on camera that he had \u201cnever had more\u201d control of campaign messaging.<\/p>\n

\u201cKen Paxton is everything that\u2019s wrong with our politics,\u201d Talarico said. \u201cHe doesn\u2019t serve us. He serves himself. Since taking office, Kent Paxton has increased his net worth by 27 million dollars. All while our pay has remained steady. He now owns 15 homes, while most Texans are struggling.\u201d <\/p>\n

Rev. Freddie Haynes, a Democratic congressional candidate who will almost certainly replace U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, in the U.S. House of Representatives, who lost the Senate primary to Talarico in March, introduced Talarico. <\/p>\n

Before Haynes, Hinojosa took the stage to an eruption of \u201cGina\u201d chants. She took aim at culture war issues and attributed them to division tactics by the ultra-wealthy. The state lawmaker also said that she had no intention of implementing a state income tax, despite Republican ads claiming otherwise, and drew focus back to healthcare and education.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Rev. Frederick Haynes of Dallas introduces Talarico. <\/p>\n

As she has for much of her campaign, she attacked Abbott for introducing Texas\u2019 voucher system. After anti-school choice Republicans were primaried by MAGA loyalists following failed attempts at implementing vouchers, Abbott achieved what he has billed as a promise kept to Texans with the passage of SB 2 in 2025.<\/p>\n

\u201cGreg Abbott took $1 billion from neighborhood public schools to give to unaccountable private schools in his voucher scam,\u201d Hinojosa said to a chorus of boos.<\/p>\n

The first early voting reports will come at 7 p.m. Tuesday night, giving Texans a clearer idea of a midterm cycle that Hinojosa said will shape the future of the Lone Star State.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the fight of our lives that we are in in this election. It is the one fight I talk about, the one fight of our time, the one fight of our generation,\u201d Hinojosa said. \u201cIs Texas going to be a state that is by and for the people?\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Talarico is in an extremely close race with Greg Abbott. Austin Wood Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico called…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":481406,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[102,104,103,409,1967,293],"class_list":["post-481405","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-dallas","tag-dallas","tag-dallas-headlines","tag-dallas-news","tag-election","tag-ken-paxton","tag-texas-legislature"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/481405","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=481405"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/481405\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/481406"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=481405"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=481405"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=481405"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}