Talarico Weighs U.S. Senate Race as Dem
with Potential to Be Biggest Threat for GOP
Capitol Inside
June 6, 2025
State Rep. James Talarico
of Austin is eyeing a potential bid for the U.S. Senate in 2026 in a fight that he could give Democrats their best shot to win if Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is the nominee for the GOP as the current favorite based on early polling.
A 36-year-old educator who's a TikTok sensation and Presbyterian minister in the making as well, Talarico confirmed on Friday that he's weighing a race for the seat that U.S. Senator John Cornyn is attempting to defend with Paxton as his biggest current threat.
"The legislative session just ended, and I am having conversations about how I can best serve, and that does include the Senate race," Talarico told Heart Newspapers.
Talarico joins a list of Democrats who've been viewed as possible contenders for the federal post including a pair of former congressional members in Colin Allred and Beto O'Rourke along with current U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro of San Antonio.
Democratic State Senator Nathan Johnson of Dallas has appeared to be considering a race for the U.S, Senate as well next year. Johnson, who's in the first half of a four-year term, would have the luxury of knowing he would keep his job as a state senator if he sought the federal position and came up short.
Talarico's interest in the Senate appeared to catch some fellow Democrats by surprise in light of a groundswell of encouragement he's received for a campaign for governor when both posts are on the ballot next year.
But Talarico could expect to have substantially better odds in the general election in a fight for Senate than he would against Governor Greg Abbott - a Republican who's appeared to be as close to invincible as a candidate with a monstrous war chest and name identification that's unrivaled for a politician at the state level here.
Talarico would be giving up a safe House seat in a district if he seeks to make history as the first Democrat to be elected statewide in Texas in 32 years with a campaign for higher office.
Talarico's current district is his second
since he flipped a seat in Williamson County when Democrats picked up 12 on the crest of
a blue wave in 2018. Democrats think Paxton could be a godsend for them as a U.S. Senate candidate who would carry baggage after being dogged by scandals that culminated in an FBI investigation and push by Texas House Republicans to oust him from office with a vote for his impeachment in 2023.
Paxton was sentenced to community service in a securities fraud case that stemmed from dealings he'd had with a former Republican lawmaker who'd been a political enemy when they served together in the Texas House. But Paxton's stock has soared since Texas Senate Republicans acquitted him on charges of corruption in connection to a mistress and donor.
Paxton has enjoyed double-digit leads over Cornyn in most of the polls that have been conducted on the Senate competition here next year. But the AG, who served two years as a state senator before running statewide, would give the Democrats a better chance on paper than a longtime incumbent like Cornyn whose personal life has never been an issue.
Paxton is close to President Donald Trump, who could become a major liability for Republicans in the upcoming midterm elections for a myriad of reasons including a nasty breakup with Elon Musk who said on Thursday that he thinks he should be impeached.
more to come ...
| 
