If political fundraising is supposed to be a marathon, U.S. Senate hopeful James Talarico just showed up, sprinted past fellow Democrat Colin Allred, and then jogged a victory lap while counting $100 bills.
In just three weeks, Talarico — the 36-year-old Texas state rep turned Senate hopeful — pulled in a cool $6.2 million, Axios reported. That’s a lot more than the $4.1 million that Allred, his primary opponent and last year’s Democratic nominee, managed to scrape together in three months. Think of it this way: Allred is the guy who brings a six-pack to the party, and Talarico’s the guy who shows up with a refrigerated truck.
Talarico’s haul came from 125,000 donors across all 50 states, which is either proof of a national movement or just confirmation that people outside Texas enjoy watching Lone Star Democrats fight like roosters in a political cockfight. He’s branding himself as the fresh-faced outsider who can appeal to Christian voters, which, in Texas politics, is like saying you’re really good at breathing oxygen.
And now the national press is eating it up, too. Especially since Talarico garnered a ton of coverage during the House Texas Democrats’ quorum break battle for the redistricted congressional maps — while Allred, who is known for his history as a civil rights attorney, was nowhere to be seen. The New York Times just ran a glowing op-ed asking if he’s “the savior Democrats have been waiting for,” Politico magazine is name-dropping him in Obama gossip, saying that the former president “praised Talarico as an effective spokesperson for showing up on different media and platforms.”
That’s a nod to Talarico’s substantial social media presence, where he’s been carving out a spot for himself as a faith-based progressive. He’s got 3.2 million followers across TikTok, Instagram, and X. And he’s absolutely skunking Allred in follower count, who, by comparison, has about 363,000 across those three platforms.
When Talarico announced he was running on Sept. 9, folks online were quick to take sides.
Former Texas state Sen. Wendy Davis wrote on X that she was with Allred “all the way.” Meanwhile, Texas politics commenter Kat Vargas, also known as “Howdy Politics,” accused Allred of being too low-profile, especially during recent redistricting hearings. (Disclosure: Davis is an advisor for The Barbed Wire Media, The Barbed Wire’s parent company, and Vargas has previously co-hosted an event with The Barbed Wire.)
“Colin Allred does not deserve to be the nominee,” Vargas wrote on Threads.
Even Joe Rogan has given him the presidential nudge. That’s the kind of coverage money can’t buy (though $6.2 million probably helps get it delivered to your doorstep faster).
“James Talarico, you need to run for President,” Rogan said in a recent podcast. “We need someone who is actually a good person.”
Meanwhile, Allred, who already lost to Ted Cruz by more than 8 points last time around, looks increasingly like the guy stuck with yesterday’s leftovers. For context, as Texas Tribune reported, “Beto O’Rourke, who set a new standard for Democratic fundraising in his 2018 run against Cruz, needed nine months to raise that same amount.”
National Democrats are nervously eyeing this cage match, because it’s not just about who survives the primary, it’s about who will take on either U.S. Senator John Cornyn or fellow Republican Ken Paxton in their messy primary.
Democrats, for their part, are quietly hoping Paxton wins, given his history of scandals. Meanwhile, top Republicans told Axios they’re worried Paxton may cost them a majority in the House. But for now, the story is money. And Talarico just proved he can raise it faster than Allred can spell “Q3.”