Talarico Extends Hand To Black Voters

Much ado in the mainstream media about a supposedly confrontational tone at a Sunday event in Houston designed specifically as an outreach and forum for Houston’s Black voters, during which Kayla Guo at the Texas Tribune says Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico fielded questions for over an hour from dozens of Black community members on why their community should back his campaign. Those questions ranged from his policy positions on voting rights, how he would support Black rural farmers, his views on immigration enforcement and the Republican war on diversity, equity, and inclusion, the Black representation on his own campaign staff, and how he planned to back down-ballot Black Democratic candidates.

In response, Talarico talked about his recent appearances on Black media outlets, invitations to appear that he’s accepted from Black churches and historically Black universities, his policy positions to address the cost of living, healthcare access, early childhood education, voting rights, and Texas’ dismal statistics on maternal mortality—which as we know, quite disproportionately affects Black women. And importantly, James Talarico talked about the endorsements he’s picked up from a broad range of Black Texas political leaders: first and foremost his primary opponent Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, groups like the Texas Organizing Project, which works to mobilize Black and Latino voters, and several Black lawmakers who flanked Talarico at this same event in Houston, including Progress Texas endorsees Congressman Christian Menefee and State Rep. Lauren Ashley Simmons. Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis, State Reps. Dr. Alma Allen, Christian Manuel, and Ron Reynolds, and Houston Mayor Pro Tem Martha Castex-Tatum were all there in support as well.

To cap off Rep. Talarico’s message to the Black community was his announcement that he plans to dedicate $25 million specifically to Black outreach for the rest of his Senate run, which he said was the largest such investment in modern Texas history.

So let’s be clear: there was a lot of outreach, and agreement, and conversation, and exchange and—where it was needed—we believe a lot of healing at this event, and we’re glad to see it. But there were tense moments, including one in particular from Kandice Webber, a Houston nurse whom the Texas Tribune also describes as a “political content creator”—which is more or less the same as a political influencer— who drew what the Trib calls “a mix of scattered applause and disapproving murmurs from the audience” when she attempted to shout James Talarico down, accusing him of cutting the conversation short (again, he fielded questions for over an hour). Webber also leveled charges that Talarico is secretly an advocate for charter schools, which anyone who knows anything about James Talarico’s track record as a lawmaker knows is a stretch. The accusation stems from the two years that Talarico spent teaching middle school through Teach for America, a national education nonprofit that recruits and trains people who commit to teaching for at least two years in high-needs schools around the country—that organization does have historic ties to charter schools, but James Talarico has famously been a leading advocate for public education and a staunch opponent of Gov. Greg Abbott’s private school voucher scam.

So Kandice Webber—co-chair of Houston Rising, the grassroots organization that produces Houston’s March for Black Women, and a lead organizer for Black Lives Matter Houston—got her point across, most definitely accomplished the goals that all political content creators and influencers are pursuing, and made it very clear in her comments that she personally opposes James Talarico’s candidacy, which is her right as a voter. Meanwhile, right-wing media has had a field day with the situation since last weekend, celebrating an awkward moment for the Democratic nominee. But, was Webber correct in saying to James Talarico—in front of a large crowd of Black Texans—that “Black people don’t trust you”? Recent polling doesn’t support that notion.

According to the Texas Politics Project, James Talarico is outperforming both prior Democratic Senate candidates, Beto O’Rourke and Colin Allred, among Texas Black voters at this stage in the campaign—with 67% of Black voters in June pledging to vote for Talarico. That number in June of 2024 for Colin Allred was 47%, and for Beto in June of 2018, 49%. Phil Prazan at NBC DFW in Dallas notes two things: first, the notability of Talarico outperforming both O’Rourke, who was a genuine emerging political rock star at the time, and Allred, who was a U.S. Congressman otherwise known for his career in the NFL, in name recognition among Black voters in Texas. (O’Rourke and Allred would go on to secure about 90% of the Black vote in their respective elections.) And second, that if James Talarico has an issue with the Black electorate in Texas, it’s much more concentrated among Black political leaders than it is among Black voters.

James Talarico’s supposed issues with the Black community of Texas have become a political flashpoint—and as we know, in today’s social media-driven information environment, centered around the “attention economy” and algorithms that reward outrage far more than reconciliation, political flashpoints are a very strong temptation for exploitation. There are perfectly good reasons to view the information and stances coming from individual influencers—even those with whom you normally agree—with a measure of caution. Those content creators know very well that riling you up is the best way to grow their audiences, and thus their influence—and that’s ultimately the primary goal. Healing, understanding, bridge-building, and consensus just don’t get the job done for some political influencers and content creators. Welcome to the new normal.

Shocker! Paxton Lies About Rally Turnout

Let’s get one in for Ken Paxton before we wrap here: he is apparently having trouble getting much of anybody to pay attention to his campaign at all, to the point where he’s tellin’ tall tales about his live event attendance. Michael Karlis at the San Antonio Current, whom we enjoyed having on In Progress with us last week, says Paxton’s latest unforced error comes with a wildly exaggerated attendance figure for a rally his campaign threw in McAllen, claiming that 763 attendees showed up at University Draft House, which is a smallish venue with an official capacity of 414, and pictures on Twitter along with these wild claims that seem to show right about 100 attendees with lots of room to maneuver. For Ken Paxton, life in general appears to be an exercise in bending the truth, knowing that his voters aren’t paying attention anyway—and if they are, have long accepted his general lack of scruples.

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