State Rep. James Talarico has jumped into the Democratic Senate primary race in Texas, announcing his bid early Tuesday morning.
The former middle school teacher made headlines this summer for leaving the state during a special session, alongside Democratic colleagues, to stand up against a mid-decade GOP redistricting plan encouraged by President Donald Trump to nab additional seats for Republicans in the Lone Star State.
Democrats have long attempted to flip Texas blue, throwing support behind buzzy candidates like former U.S. Reps. Beto O’Rourke in 2018 and Colin Allred in 2024, but the efforts proved unsuccessful both times with Republicans’ iron grip on the state unflinching.
In fact, Trump garnered the most support he ever has had in Texas in the 2024 presidential election, claiming a near 14-point victory.
Talarico will face at least two contenders in the primary: Allred, who’s running again after losing to Republican Sen. Ted Cruz last year, and former astronaut Terry Virts have both officially announced bids.
U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro has hinted at the possibility of putting his hat in the ring and O’Rourke has yet to rule out a run but has kept himself relevant in Texas politics as of late by crisscrossing across the state to host town halls through his voting advocacy organization Powered by People.
A source familiar with O’Rouke’s thinking told ABC News “Beto has not taken anything off the table and will continue to do everything he can to be helpful to his fellow Texans. During just the last two months, he had more than 30 events including organizing events throughout every region of Texas -- from Abilene and Amarillo to Laredo, Tyler, El Paso, San Antonio, Beaumont, Fort Worth, Austin, and Houston.”
On the Republican side, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who was impeached in 2022, is vying to unseat Sen. John Cornyn, who has served four terms.
In August, Republicans ultimately won the redistricting showdown in Texas, with the legislature approving new maps that will likely result in GOP control of three to five additional seats during next year’s midterm elections.
But Democrats did not concede without a fight, with legislators like Talarico joining national media outlets at all hours of the day and night to speak out against what they characterized as a ploy by Trump to rig the election.
And Texas is not the only state with redistricting top of mind: California, New York, and Missouri, among other states, are all facing their own congressional mapping battles.
Talarico’s announcement comes in the wake of this media attention, including an appearance on Joe Rogan’s podcast earlier this summer where the conservative podcaster encouraged the seminary-educated, eighth-generation Texan to run for president.
Talarico spent much of the three-hour podcast discussing his Christian faith and how it compels him to align himself with progressive ideas.
In his candidacy announcement, Talrico said, "The biggest divide in our country is not left versus right -- it’s top versus bottom. Billionaire mega-donors and their puppet politicians have taken over our state and our country, rigging the system for themselves. I’m running for the U.S. Senate to bring people together and take power back for working Texans. This is an underdog fight. We’re going up against the political establishment, and we’re going up against a lot of money. Big Money is powerful, but it's nothing compared to people power.”
He plans to hold a rally Tuesday night in his hometown of Round Rock, 20 miles north of the state capital.