“Texas forever”, he wrote on his X profile after the victory. James Talarico, Democratic candidate, has won the federal Senate seat in Texas, beating Republican Ken Paxton in one of the most anticipated challenges of the midterm elections in the United States. His is a historic victory, because the last Democrat elected to the Senate in Texas was Lloyd Bentsen, in 1988, thirty-eight years ago.
“We defeated Goliath, we just took back Texas and we just proved that all the money in the world can do nothing against the people of Texas,” he said, speaking to his supporters after winning the Senate seat. “We have just shown that a politics based on division can do nothing against a politics based on love. And we have just sent a message to every billionaire, to every multi-billionaire, to every corrupt supporter of this now broken political system: in this state, in this country, power belongs to the people”, he added, to applause.
Who is James Talarico
James Talarico is 37 years old, born in Round Rock and before entering politics he taught in a public school in San Antonio. He has been a member of the Texas House of Representatives since 2018 and is a fairly unique Democrat: he is a Presbyterian seminarian and in every public intervention he has always given great importance to his faith. Talarico often quotes passages from the Bible and speaks of the need to love one’s neighbor and the “politics of love”, that is, done with the intention of uniting people and not dividing them. He built his electoral campaign mainly around three themes: Christian faith, social and economic justice and the fight against the financing of electoral campaigns by large economic interests.
Texas forever. https://t.co/LIqYPSiWUH
— James Talarico (@jamestalarico) November 4, 2026
Reform ICE
Talarico is a sworn enemy of the federal immigration agency (ICE), which he accuses of having become “a secret police” at the service of Donald Trump. He proposes imposing limits on the agency tasked with arresting illegal migrants: banning officers from covering their faces, requiring them to wear body cameras and ensuring they “have real law enforcement experience.” The candidate argued that the challenge to break Republican dominance in the state and shift the balance towards an opposition majority in Congress is not a battle between political parties, but rather a clash between “those at the top and those at the bottom”.
Against “billionaires and corrupt politicians”
“The real struggle in this country is not between right and left – he said during the election campaign -. It’s about us all uniting to oppose the billionaires and corrupt politicians who have taken advantage of us”. The Latino community played a crucial role in this election. This demographic segment, which makes up nearly a third of the electorate, has tilted toward Trump in the 2024 election, breaking with decades of support for the Democratic Party. To regain their support, Talarico acknowledged their frustrations and pointed the finger at what he sees as broken promises by the Republican administration. “Many people voted for Trump believing he would lower prices, but he did exactly the opposite. Many thought he would end corruption, but the situation is worse than ever,” he said.
Immigration reform
Talarico says he favors “comprehensive immigration reform” that includes “both border security and a path to citizenship” for undocumented people who have resided in the United States for years. Congress has not passed comprehensive immigration reform since 1986. In 2024, a bipartisan agreement that would have tightened asylum laws was defeated in the Senate. When asked about a possible adoption of similar restrictions on asylum, Talarico responded that the system needs reform, but structured in such a way as to allow “anyone with a legitimate asylum request to find refuge in this country”.
His proposal calls for hiring more immigration judges who can “review cases and filter out fraudulent applications.” Pressed on the possibility of changing the asylum legislation, he limited himself to stating that “it deserves to be re-examined”.