Democrats have long dreamed of turning Texas blue, only to end up disappointed time and time again. But like a perennial losing sports franchise, the next year is always "our year." Thus, the Dems are again placing their hopes on flipping Texas in 2026---and they are putting their money where their mouth is. Democrat Senate candidate James Talarico raised $27 million during the first quarter, an all-time record for first quarter haul by any Senate candidate. On the Republican side, Sen. John Cornyn outraised Attorney General Ken Paxton in the first quarter, as they head toward the May 26 runoff.
The money pouring in to Talarico from national Democrats is notable, in that it eclipses other Senate candidates in states where they have a much better chance of winning. But Dems just can't give up on their white whale, the Lone Star State. Texas political analyst Luke Macias says Dems are playing the long game when it comes to flipping Texas. "It's not necessarily to win statewide, because they know their numbers statewide are very challenging," he tells KTRH. "But what they know is the better they do in the big statewide races, the more counties flip blue, and the more competitive Texas House and Congressional districts go blue."
"Democrats are coming in to fight for Texas, because they don't want Republicans to dominate the state like they have been," he continues. "So (Republicans) have a real fight on their hands."
Macias expects Dems to spend a quarter of a billion dollars in Texas during this cycle, which also raises the question of where all this money is coming from. Talarico has railed against billionaires and "big money" in politics, and is targeting billionaires with his latest tax plan. But Macias notes much of Talarico's haul is coming from "big money" donors, many of them from out of state. "His super PAC recently reported all the money they got from billionaires across the country to propel him over Jasmine Crockett," says Macias. "So he can rail against billionaires, but without them he probably wouldn't be the Democrat nominee for U.S. Senate right now."
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