A star is born in Texas: James Talarico wins Democratic Senate primary with his moderate style

James Talarico, a 36-year-old rising star among Democrats, won his party’s primary in Texas on Tuesday, securing a bid for one of the state’s two Senate seats in the November midterms. With his progressive ideology and moderate style, Talarico defeated Representative Jasmine Crockett, well known in Washington for her outspoken opposition to President Donald Trump.

The winner of the race, which was marred by a legal dispute over the voting in Dallas, where Crockett was running on home turf and the polling places were ordered to remain open an extra two hours, will have to wait until May to find out who his Republican opponent will be in November. All seats in the House of Representatives and a third of those in the Senate are up for grabs in the midterms, and the viability of the second half of Trump’s administration hangs in the balance. Polls predict that his party risks losing control of one of the houses, perhaps both.

Republicans, for their part, experienced their own election night on Tuesday, which ended, as expected, without a clear result. The veteran John Cornyn, a senator since 2002, was the frontrunner (obtaining 42.3% of the vote, with 77% of votes counted), followed by Texas state attorney general Ken Paxton (40.8%), and in third place, Representative Wesley Hunt (13.1%; the remainder was divided among five other candidates). Since none garnered more than 50% of the vote, they will face each other again in a runoff in May. Trump had not endorsed any of the three candidates.

The primary was closely followed nationwide because the options provided ample fodder for debate on what the two parties must do to win in November. It was also the most expensive primary in history, with an investment of $110 million, $71 million of which Cornyn spent defending himself against criticism that he wasn’t “MAGA enough.” The fact that the Republicans will have to wait until May for their runoff will further deplete Republican coffers in the lead-up to November, which is good news for Talarico. Moreover, he has two more months than his opponent, whoever it may be, to win over voters.

On the Democratic side, the choice was between Talarico’s progressive moderation, grounded in strong Christian values, and the hardline leftism of Jasmine Crockett, the Dallas-area representative in the U.S. Capitol who has recently become one of Trump’s most hated members of Congress, and a frequent target of his insults. Her strategy was to mobilize the party’s base. Talarico’s is to seduce undecided voters and conservatives disillusioned with the current White House’s direction, offering a populist economic platform and a message that proposes replacing polarization with “love thy neighbor.”

Talarico’s victory, which was more successful in rural areas and with Hispanic voters, brings the Democrats closer to winning the contested seat. If this happens, it would be the first time the party has achieved a statewide victory. Party strategists continue to fantasize about the possibility that demographic shifts will eventually cause the largest state in the United States after Alaska to turn from red (Republican) to purple (swing state). Trump won Texas in 2024 by 14 points.

Traditional values

Within the Republican Party, the fight was between the veteran Cornyn’s traditional values ​​and Paxton’s blind loyalty to the MAGA movement. The latter’s unwavering adherence to Trumpism has allowed him to overcome a series of scandals that, in another era might have derailed a political career. These include an affair that led his wife of many years to obtain a divorce on “biblical grounds” and an impeachment process that failed due to charges including bribery, abuse of public office, and corruption.

The Texas primaries, along with those in Arkansas and North Carolina, kicked off the long midterm election campaign on Tuesday. These primaries are typically unfavorable for the incumbent party. This year will be no exception, and a severe test of Trump’s performance in the White House is expected. His unpopularity is evident, and polls reflect discontent among Americans over his handling of the economy and his inability to control the rising cost of living. The war in Iran, his aggressive immigration agenda, and the brutality of law enforcement officers in Minneapolis haven’t helped matters either.

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