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Updated Oct 16, 2026, 2:28 PM ET
Democratic · 3 November 2026
James Talarico
Member of the Texas House of Representatives (since 2018)
James Talarico, a former teacher who has served in the Texas House of Representatives since 2018, is the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Texas in 2026.
2026 Races & Market Forecast
Live TruthIndex™ and prediction market consensus for races contested by James Talarico.
Latest coverage
Live News
Recent media coverage for James Talarico.
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Talarico rallies as his Texas US Senate race against Paxton enters final weeks
James Talarico, the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Texas, is set to rally with supporters Thursday, as his underdog bid to become the first Democrat to win statewide in over 30 years heads into its final weeks.
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James Talarico announces record-breaking $64 million fundraising haul in Texas Senate race
Caroline Linton is an associate managing editor on the political team for CBSNews.com. She has previously written for The Daily Beast, Newsweek and amNewYork.
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Texas Democrat James Talarico faces grilling from voters at town hall in tight Senate race
Talarico casts himself as a moderate who would put Texans' needs over party allegiances amid close contest against Republican Ken Paxton.
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Five Takeaways From James Talarico’s CNN Town Hall With Texas Voters
Texas Democrat and Senate hopeful James Talarico faced off with friendly, undecided and skeptical voters during a CNN town hall Wednesday night, five days before early voting starts in one of the country’s most hotly…
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Talarico debates Texas voters in CNN-Jubilee town hall amid tight Senate race
Texas Democrat James Talarico on Wednesday took questions from voters in a town hall hosted by CNN and Jubilee, appearing on stage solo as he calls for rival Republican Ken Paxton to debate in their closely watched…
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- Talarico to appear in CNN Town Hall amid tight Texas Senate race
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New polls show James Talarico with lead over Ken Paxton in Texas Senate race
New polls show tight contests in Texas in the race for U.S. Senate and governor.
The Hill
Paxton
No story this week names this candidate.
- Born
- May 17, 1989
- Birthplace
- Round Rock, Texas
- Education
- McNeil High School
University of Texas at Austin (Bachelor of Arts in government)
Harvard Graduate School of Education (Master of Education in education policy, 2016)
Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary (Master of Arts in theological studies; Master of Divinity in progress)
Biography & Campaign Analysis
Background
James Dell Talarico, whose birth name was James Dell Collins, was born on May 17, 1989, in Round Rock, Texas; months after his birth his mother, Tamara Causey, married Mark Talarico, who adopted him and gave him his surname.
He attended public schools in the Round Rock Independent School District and finished at McNeil High School, in Williamson County.
He studied government at the University of Texas at Austin, earning a Bachelor of Arts in 2011, and completed a Master of Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education in 2016, concentrating on education policy.
At Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary he received a Master of Arts in theological studies and has pursued a Master of Divinity.
Talarico entered Teach For America in 2011 and spent two years teaching English to sixth graders at Rhodes Middle School in San Antonio. He then became Central Texas executive director of Reasoning Mind, a nonprofit that provides computer-based math instruction.
Career
Talarico was 29 when he won a Texas House seat in 2018, defeating Republican Cynthia Flores when incumbent Larry Gonzales left the seat, and was sworn in on November 20, 2018. He won reelection in 2020 with 51.5% of the vote.
After the 2020 redistricting, he moved to House District 50, which Celia Israel was leaving, and won it in 2022 with 78.5% in the primary and 76.8% in the general election; he was returned for a fourth term in 2024.
Across those terms he was lead author of close to 200 bills, of which 16 became law, and his legislative work included school finance, public education, a $25 monthly cap on insulin copays for state-regulated health plans, and opposition to requiring the Ten Commandments in classrooms.
2026 race
Talarico declared his candidacy for the U.S. Senate on September 9, 2025, for the seat held by four-term Republican John Cornyn. In the March 3, 2026, Democratic primary he won the nomination with 52.4% of the vote against U.S. Representative Jasmine Crockett, who received 46.2%. His Republican opponent on November 3, 2026, is Ken Paxton, the Texas attorney general, who defeated Cornyn in the May 26 runoff.