On Tuesday, Texas elected its first Democrat to statewide office in more than 30 years when James Talarico defeated Ken Paxton to become the next senator from Texas.
While unknown to some outside the state, those paying attention to Texas politics already knew his name before a contentious election thrust Talarico and his campaign into the national spotlight.
On an Austin stage on Tuesday night, Talarico weaved his message of unity seamlessly with his faith.
What they’re saying:
“In this race we went up against our own Goliaths,” Talarico said, comparing his campaign to the slingshot wielding David, who felled Goliath despite being outmatched.
“You were my slingshot,” he told the crowd. “Tonight we defeated Goliath.”
Talarico isn’t just a politician. He is a former middle school teacher and a Presbyterian seminarian.
An eighth generation Texan, Talarico was first elected to the state House of Representatives in 2018. At the time of his first election, he was the youngest member.
Talarico will replace Sen. John Cornyn, who lost his bid for reelection to Paxton in the primary.
Talarico in the state legislature
Talarico’s 2018 election flipped a Trump-leaning house district around the Round Rock and Austin area.
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He built a reputation for bipartisan collaboration, passing dozens of bills with bipartisan support, with a focus on lowering drug costs, increasing teacher pay and cutting property taxes.
Talarico gained some national attention for his comments against Texas Senate Bill 10, which requires the Ten Commandments to be posted in public school classrooms.
“If the goal of this bill is to create a whole new generation of Christians, I think it will do the opposite. I think this bill will create a whole new generation of atheists who think our religion is more about power than love,” Talarico said on the House floor in 2025.
Talarico was also against Texas’ school voucher program. He introduced an amendment to the bill that would have sent the voucher issue to voters. It was shot down.
Talarico on the campaign trail
During Talarico’s campaign, he continued to call for changes to the education system, healthcare system and immigration.
He’s called for both sides of the aisle to work together and has said that the political divide is not about left versus right, but top versus bottom.
Tuesday night, Talarico won in counties that were won by Republicans in 2024, including Tarrant, Collin and Denton counties.
In his victory speech, he called his campaign the politics of love.
“We didn’t win this race by alienating our neighbors. Or by shaming our neighbors. Or by ridiculing our neighbors,” Talarico said. “We embodied a new kind of politics. A politics rooted in deep love for our state, for our country and most importantly, for all our neighbors.”
The Source: Information in this article comes from previous Fox Local reporting, James Talarico’s campaign website and comments made during his victory speech.