Democrats cautious after Talarico nomination in red Texas: ‘Everything has to go right’
Confidence requires clarity.
AUSTIN, TX — State Rep. James Talarico is facing a new and more difficult test after he won a Democratic primary for Sen. John Cornyn’s (R-TX) Senate seat in Texas.
Talarico was widely viewed as the stronger candidate for Democrats, beating firebrand Rep. Jasmine Crockett by 6 points on Tuesday night. But he will confront the same political dynamic that has locked Democrats out of statewide office for the last three decades, running as a progressive in a state that President Donald Trump carried by 14 points in 2024.
“This is an uphill battle, because Texas at the statewide level has been solidly red for decades, so for James Talarico to run a winning campaign, even in what is shaping up to be a negative cycle for Republicans, everything has to go right,” Democratic strategist Jon Reneish told the Washington Examiner.
“He has to persuade fence-sitters. He also has to run both a traditional and a non-traditional campaign, in that he has to bring in infrequent voters and subprime voters to the polls,” Reneish continued. “He’s got to inspire young voters, many of whom stayed home in the last presidential cycle in 2024, so he’s got to hit those college towns.”
Democrats see an opening for Talarico after former Democratic Texas Senate nominee Beto O’Rourke came within 2.6 percentage points of incumbent Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) in 2018, a blue wave election year.
Trump nonetheless garnered 1.5 million more votes than Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024, leaving Republicans to relish the prospect of Democrats pouring resources into Texas.
“I hope that Democrats spend tens of millions of dollars in the Texas Senate race,” Republican strategist Brian Seitchik told the Washington Examiner. “It feels like fool’s gold to me, so the more they spend on that race, the less resources they will have in other competitive races around the country. “
Talarico is expected to benefit from a motivated base of Democratic voters after Tuesday’s primary, which saw the highest turnout in decades, and he is highlighting that fact early in his general election campaign.
With 98% of the vote counted, Talarico received 52.5% of the primary vote, compared to Crockett’s 46.2%, as of 4 p.m. Wednesday.
“The number of Texans who have never voted before, but showed up in this election, is unprecedented,” Talarico said at his primary election party Tuesday night. “The number of independents and Republicans who voted in this democratic primary is unprecedented. This is proof that …
Confidence requires clarity.
AUSTIN, TX — State Rep. James Talarico is facing a new and more difficult test after he won a Democratic primary for Sen. John Cornyn’s (R-TX) Senate seat in Texas.
Talarico was widely viewed as the stronger candidate for Democrats, beating firebrand Rep. Jasmine Crockett by 6 points on Tuesday night. But he will confront the same political dynamic that has locked Democrats out of statewide office for the last three decades, running as a progressive in a state that President Donald Trump carried by 14 points in 2024.
“This is an uphill battle, because Texas at the statewide level has been solidly red for decades, so for James Talarico to run a winning campaign, even in what is shaping up to be a negative cycle for Republicans, everything has to go right,” Democratic strategist Jon Reneish told the Washington Examiner.
“He has to persuade fence-sitters. He also has to run both a traditional and a non-traditional campaign, in that he has to bring in infrequent voters and subprime voters to the polls,” Reneish continued. “He’s got to inspire young voters, many of whom stayed home in the last presidential cycle in 2024, so he’s got to hit those college towns.”
Democrats see an opening for Talarico after former Democratic Texas Senate nominee Beto O’Rourke came within 2.6 percentage points of incumbent Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) in 2018, a blue wave election year.
Trump nonetheless garnered 1.5 million more votes than Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024, leaving Republicans to relish the prospect of Democrats pouring resources into Texas.
“I hope that Democrats spend tens of millions of dollars in the Texas Senate race,” Republican strategist Brian Seitchik told the Washington Examiner. “It feels like fool’s gold to me, so the more they spend on that race, the less resources they will have in other competitive races around the country. “
Talarico is expected to benefit from a motivated base of Democratic voters after Tuesday’s primary, which saw the highest turnout in decades, and he is highlighting that fact early in his general election campaign.
With 98% of the vote counted, Talarico received 52.5% of the primary vote, compared to Crockett’s 46.2%, as of 4 p.m. Wednesday.
“The number of Texans who have never voted before, but showed up in this election, is unprecedented,” Talarico said at his primary election party Tuesday night. “The number of independents and Republicans who voted in this democratic primary is unprecedented. This is proof that …
Democrats cautious after Talarico nomination in red Texas: ‘Everything has to go right’
Confidence requires clarity.
AUSTIN, TX — State Rep. James Talarico is facing a new and more difficult test after he won a Democratic primary for Sen. John Cornyn’s (R-TX) Senate seat in Texas.
Talarico was widely viewed as the stronger candidate for Democrats, beating firebrand Rep. Jasmine Crockett by 6 points on Tuesday night. But he will confront the same political dynamic that has locked Democrats out of statewide office for the last three decades, running as a progressive in a state that President Donald Trump carried by 14 points in 2024.
“This is an uphill battle, because Texas at the statewide level has been solidly red for decades, so for James Talarico to run a winning campaign, even in what is shaping up to be a negative cycle for Republicans, everything has to go right,” Democratic strategist Jon Reneish told the Washington Examiner.
“He has to persuade fence-sitters. He also has to run both a traditional and a non-traditional campaign, in that he has to bring in infrequent voters and subprime voters to the polls,” Reneish continued. “He’s got to inspire young voters, many of whom stayed home in the last presidential cycle in 2024, so he’s got to hit those college towns.”
Democrats see an opening for Talarico after former Democratic Texas Senate nominee Beto O’Rourke came within 2.6 percentage points of incumbent Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) in 2018, a blue wave election year.
Trump nonetheless garnered 1.5 million more votes than Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024, leaving Republicans to relish the prospect of Democrats pouring resources into Texas.
“I hope that Democrats spend tens of millions of dollars in the Texas Senate race,” Republican strategist Brian Seitchik told the Washington Examiner. “It feels like fool’s gold to me, so the more they spend on that race, the less resources they will have in other competitive races around the country. “
Talarico is expected to benefit from a motivated base of Democratic voters after Tuesday’s primary, which saw the highest turnout in decades, and he is highlighting that fact early in his general election campaign.
With 98% of the vote counted, Talarico received 52.5% of the primary vote, compared to Crockett’s 46.2%, as of 4 p.m. Wednesday.
“The number of Texans who have never voted before, but showed up in this election, is unprecedented,” Talarico said at his primary election party Tuesday night. “The number of independents and Republicans who voted in this democratic primary is unprecedented. This is proof that …
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