Talarico’s black and Hispanic outreach stalls just weeks before early voting

Democratic Texas state Rep. Jolanda Jones warned over the summer that James Talarico was not doing enough to win black votes for the upcoming midterms. Just weeks before Election Day, his campaign may lose even more ground with black and Hispanic voters, potentially dooming Democrats’ efforts to seize control of the Senate from Republicans.’Talarico needs to pay for us to get our voters out. Only then does Talarico have a chance to win.’James Talarico’s U.S. Senate campaign in Texas ran into problems from the very beginning when he defeated Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) for the Democratic nomination. Crockett suggested that black voters in Texas are not excited about Talarico.Now his campaign has given critics an opening to accuse the woke candidate of ignoring both blacks and Hispanics.On Monday, a black voter outreach event at the Central Texas African American Civic Engagement Symposium was canceled, just a week after Talarico did not appear in person for an event with the U.S. Hispanic Business Council in South Texas.Talarico attended the Hispanic event virtually, claiming to be too ill to be there in person.”I was looking forward to being down in the Valley,” he said on Wednesday. “I’ve been talking about it all week. I was ready to eat my favorite quesabirria tacos, but I was starting to feel kind of under the weather a few days ago. And last night, it got so bad that I went to urgent care here in Dallas.”Afterward, critics pounced on the campaign.”James Talarico is either taking black voters for granted or giving up on them altogether,” said Zach Kraft, a spokesperson for the Republican National Committee, in a statement to the Daily Wire. “Either way, Talarico’s attempt to heal his relationship with black voters is simply mediocre.”In August, an embittered Crockett pointed out that Republicans were not spending in the race as if they believed that Talarico had a chance to win.”I watch money. When I look at the money, if Republicans start spending money in Texas, then I’ll be convinced,” she said at the time.Texas PAC, partially funded by the Republican-linked Senate Leadership Fund, has since reserved $117 million for ads for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, Talarico’s Republican opponent, Punchbowl News reported in late September.RELATED: ‘He’s been lying to voters’: Paxton BEATS DOWN Talarico over alleged election fraud “I look at where does the NRSC stand? Where does DSCC stand? Right now, neither one are investing, which tells me that their internals are saying the same thing,” she added. “So it looks like status quo.”That criticism fits with Jones’ warning in July to the Talarico campaign. She said the campaign was paying for “white infrastructure and Hispanic infrastructure” to get out the vote, but not for black infrastructure.”Talarico needs to pay for us to get our voters out. Only then does Talarico have a chance to win,” she said at the time.The Talarico campaign was also embarrassed when it was caught last week pushing a video about a “huge crowd” of Talarico supporters “in deep-red Lubbock, Texas.” However, the video was taken in February, not October.While polling shows a very tight race between Talarico and Paxton, the Democrat has been getting constantly hammered over his extremist comments and ties.Early voting in Texas begins October 19.You can check out the latest polling average between Paxton and Talarico, plus race trends and other helpful data at Blaze News’ Poll Watch. Texas Senate polls 2026: Talarico vs. Paxton Texas Senate polls 2026: Talarico vs. Paxton pollwatch.theblaze.com Every public poll of the 2026 Texas Senate race, James Talarico (D) vs. Ken Paxton (R), and the Blaze polling average. From Blaze News. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!