Talarico Rally: Texas Senate Race Spends Record $2 Billion
The contest between James Talarico and Ken Paxton has become the most costly nonpresidential election in American history as voters head to the polls on November 3.
By Aaron Foster ·
Texas politics has reached a financial record, with the U.S. Senate race now the most expensive nonpresidential contest in the nation. Democrat James Talarico and Republican Ken Paxton have driven spending to historic levels as the election enters its final week.
Talarico and his supporters gathered at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas to hold a joint rally with Gina Hinojosa. Hinojosa, the Democratic candidate for governor, challenged incumbent Greg Abbott. She argued that Texans must actively claim their political influence.
"Texas is a world economic powerhouse and it is the people of Texas who built that power," Hinojosa told the crowd. "But the thing about power is that nobody is going to give it to us. We have to take it back. And that is what this is election is about, taking back that power."
The campaign timeline shows a long wait for a Democratic win in a statewide Texas Senate race. The last successful Democratic candidate achieved that victory in 1988. Talarico has positioned himself as a multigenerational Texan, a former middle school teacher, and a Presbyterian seminarian. His platform centers on affordability, education, immigration, and border security.
Talarico claimed his opponents were applying maximum pressure in the days before the vote. "In the final days of this election they are coming at us with everything they’ve got," he said. "They are scared. They are terrified. They see what we see. That we’re about to win this elections on November third."
Voters at the rally cited national concerns and local economic pressures as their primary motivators. Ralph Lopez, a Texas resident, stated that current officials focus on their own interests rather than constituent needs. "What I see with this current administration, a lot of them, especially on the right is it’s for them, it’s not for the people," Lopez said. Another supporter, Molina, identified democracy as the top issue while noting that gas prices and inflation remain high.
President Donald Trump traveled to Texas three times this month to campaign for Paxton. The visit served as a final push for the Republican nominee. As the rally concluded, Talarico invoked the biblical story of David and Goliath to frame the final stretch of the campaign. He emphasized the specific role Dallas voters play in determining the outcome of the closely contested race on November 3.
