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lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial | |
ARTICLE VIEW: | |
Texas Rep. James Talarico will launch a Democratic bid for US Senate, | |
sources tell CNN | |
By Edward-Isaac Dovere, Eric Bradner, CNN | |
Updated: | |
3:21 PM EDT, Fri September 5, 2025 | |
Source: CNN | |
Texas state Rep. James Talarico is poised to launch his campaign for US | |
Senate in the coming days, joining the Democratic primary in a state | |
the party hopes will emerge as competitive in next year’s midterm | |
elections, two sources familiar with his plans told CNN. | |
Talarico will vie for the seat of Republican Sen. John Cornyn, who | |
faces his own pitched primary battle against state Attorney General Ken | |
Paxton. | |
The Democratic primary already includes former US Rep. Colin Allred, | |
the party’s 2024 Senate nominee. Former US Rep. Beto O’Rourke, who | |
broke fundraising records with his stronger than expected 2018 Senate | |
run, has also said he is considering another run. | |
A Talarico adviser declined to comment on his plans. | |
Talarico, the 36-year-old pastor who represents the northern Austin | |
suburbs in the Texas House, has rocketed into the public eye this year. | |
His videos opposing Republicans’ efforts to require schools to | |
display the Ten Commandments went viral and earned him an appearance on | |
Joe Rogan’s podcast. | |
“I think of politics now less as left versus right, and much more as | |
top versus bottom. I just see how we are all pitted against each | |
other,” he told Rogan. “If we recognize that we have far more in | |
common than the stuff that divides us, that’s a threat to their | |
power. It’s a threat to their wealth. That unity — loving your | |
enemy — is not just morally good, it’s not just idealistic, it’s | |
good strategic advice.” | |
Talarico impressed Rogan enough for the podcaster to tell him: “You | |
need to run for president.” | |
He became a public face of the 15-day boycott that Texas House | |
Democrats mounted to stall the GOP’s effort to redraw the state’s | |
congressional maps to add five more Republican-leaning districts. The | |
state Democrats caused one special legislative session to expire but | |
returned for a second session in which Republicans enacted the new | |
maps. | |
Texas has long been a reliably red state. No Democrat has won statewide | |
there since 1994, and Trump won there by more than 13 points in 2024. | |
However, Democrats are eyeing the GOP primary between Cornyn and Paxton | |
as a potential opportunity. Paxton, whose wife filed for divorce “on | |
biblical grounds” in July and alleged infidelity in court documents, | |
is viewed as a much weaker general election candidate by Democrats even | |
as he remains popular with much of Trump’s base. | |
Democrats need a net gain of four seats to win control of the Senate | |
next year. Their top target is North Carolina, where the Republican | |
incumbent is retiring. Party officials hope some combination of Maine, | |
Ohio, Iowa and Texas, all seats held by Republicans, will also emerge | |
as competitive races. | |
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