Talarico Bets on Young Texas Voters in Raucous Austin Homecoming Rally

Talarico Bets on Young Texas Voters in Raucous Austin Homecoming Rally

A Packed Auditorium at His Alma Mater

Democrat James Talarico brought his campaign for the U.S. Senate back to where it started on Friday night: the University of Texas at Austin. Hundreds of students and supporters packed an auditorium on his home campus, cheering, whooping and waving campaign signs. Behind him hung a giant Texas state flag, flanked by 40 young supporters holding "Talarico" placards.

"Texas Is Not for Sale"

The centerpiece of the evening was a frontal attack on Elon Musk. Talarico accused the tech billionaire of trying to buy political influence in Texas and declared that the state is not for sale. Where his movement is funded by 1.3 million individual donors, he said, his Republican rival Ken Paxton is funded by "one dude."

Following the $158 Million Money Trail

Federal filings cited across multiple outlets show Musk gave $158 million to the Senate Leadership Fund, which transferred the same sum to Texas PAC, a Republican super PAC backing Paxton. Talarico told the crowd that super PACs and billionaire mega-donors are spending $200 million to defeat his grassroots campaign in what he described as the most expensive Senate race in U.S. history, casting his supporters as "the slingshot" against Goliath.

The 37-Year-Old Ex-Teacher Running an Anti-Corruption Campaign

Talarico, a 37-year-old state representative and former middle school teacher, is campaigning on affordability, public education, immigration and political corruption. His platform includes banning corporate PACs, restricting stock trading by lawmakers, ending gerrymandering and introducing term limits. At a nighttime rally in San Marcos, he framed the contest as "David versus Goliath," arguing that billionaires and corrupt politicians rigged the system behind rising costs.

A Statistical Dead Heat Decided by the Young

The race to replace outgoing Sen. John Cornyn remains extraordinarily tight. A University of Houston Hobby School poll of 2,000 likely voters conducted Oct. 10-14 put Talarico at 48% and Paxton at 46%, with 3% for Libertarian Ted Brown and 3% undecided. Talarico leads among voters aged 18 to 34, Black voters and urban areas, while Paxton leads among rural voters, white voters and those 55 and older. In the crowd, 19-year-old UT student Alina Anil said she had already cast her ballot.

Dueling Tours as Early Voting Runs Its Course

Talarico is on a "Clear Eyes, Full Hearts" statewide tour that included a CNN town hall with skeptical Republicans and independents. Paxton has countered with an 18-day bus tour under the slogan "Come and Take It," attacking what he calls the far left. Talarico lost nine days of campaigning to the flu at the end of September; early in-person voting began Oct. 19 and runs through Oct. 30, with Election Day on Nov. 3 and 21 campaign stops planned. Whether the students who filled that Austin auditorium actually turn out may decide if Texas elects its first Democratic senator since 1988.