James Talarico won the Democratic nomination for a US Senate seat in Texas on Tuesday, capping a remarkable rise from state lawmaker and seminary student to the party’s standard-bearer in one of the key races of the 2026 midterm cycle.
With his blend of faith-based populism, bipartisan appeal and generational energy, Talarico defeated Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, a firebrand beloved by the party’s base but who struggled to dispel concerns that she could defeat a Republican in a state that has not elected a Democrat statewide in more than 30 years.
A jubilant Talarico told supporters in Austin before the race was called: “We are not just trying to win an election. We are trying to fundamentally change our politics. And it’s working.”
It’s part of it, of course. He’s more “electable” (cough hhhwhite).
But there’s a lot to dislike about Jasmine Crockett for this particular race without even getting into policy - just campaign strategy.
Her strategy is to energize dem voters in Texas at the expense of angering conservatives and “moderates”. She’s good at that, and has been vocally slapping down Republican politicians on the hill for a while now. That will all be used against her by the Republican opposition in this race. They will use her viral clips in smear campaigns to energize Republican voters to save their state from the woke angry black lady - that is a message that will land great with their base and even with many “moderates/undecideds”. There’s a reason the republican party has backed her campaign, and it isn’t because they think she can win. It’s about race and gender, but also messaging.
Talarico is much more mild mannered and has a strategy of winning over Republican voters. That is not usually a winning strategy. But in Texas when many people want an alternative to Trump & cronies that shares their christian values? It’s got a real shot. People are fucking stupid and care more about messaging than actual politics. He’s got the messaging that will appeal to them. He’s a seminarian. He looks like a choir boy. He is fucking great at rhetoric. He is electable for more reasons than just race.
The worst part of this, is that you and other people do see it that way.
The thing that really bothers me is that Republicans vote against their interests, “leftists” vote on what they think someone’s interests are, and the majority just wants to fucking live. And we get outvoted on hate or speculation every single time.
And when I say we, I mean us.
Again, I was ignoring policy in that comment.
I believe Talarico’s policies/positions and alignments (especially regarding Israel as Crockett is AIPAC funded & trans rights) are better.
That is policy. I’m not here to say you’re wrong. I’m honestly just a bit shell shocked at what I was doing. I tend to agree with most on here, but I got taken by surprise with this candidate specifically.