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.”

  • BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today
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    1 day ago

    The good news is that Crockett will remain in Congress where she has been a very effective critic of MAGA. I’m sorry she probably won’t be able to move beyond that position, but that’s the consequences of being a black woman politician in Texas. She’s lucky to be in that office at all.

    AOC, OTOH, has a good chance of taking Schmuck Schumer’s or BackStabbing Gillibrand’s seats, and I wish she’d get to doing it. Those two have to go, especially Schmuckie-Boy.

      • BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today
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        7 hours ago

        Absolutely. I think Schmuck is far worse, but that doesn’t mean Jeffries isn’t awful, too. The Dems will never get anywhere with those two losers leading. They will always lose to MAGA, because they have a sick obsession with being polite to literally the worst people on the planet.

    • cmbabul@lemmy.world
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      1 day ago

      Alexandria has bigger things in store for her i hope. But someone needs to send Schumer to his retirement home in Tel Aviv for sure

    • ThisUsernameKillsFascists@piefed.social
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      1 day ago

      I thought that part of the reason she was running for senate was that her district had been gerrymandered out of existence - if so, she will only be in the house until January.

      • protist@mander.xyz
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        19 hours ago

        Def not, her district is barely changing and is heavily Democratic. You can compare the old and new boundaries on the map here

        • egerlach@lemmy.ca
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          18 hours ago

          From that exact page:

          “Redistricted to the 33rd district but choosing to retire to run for U.S. Senate.”