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James Talarico

Updated: Wikipedia source

James Talarico

James Dell Talarico ( TAL-uh-REE-koh, born May 17, 1989) is an American politician and educator who has served since 2018 as a member of the Texas House of Representatives. He is the Democratic nominee in the 2026 U . Senate election in Texas. Born in Round Rock, Texas, Talarico graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Arts in government in 2011, and from Harvard University with a Master of Education degree in education policy in 2016. Before entering politics, Talarico was a middle-school English teacher and an executive director for an education nonprofit. He is serving his fourth term in the Texas House of Representatives, having first been elected in 2018. While serving in the Texas House, Talarico earned his Master of Divinity at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. In 2025, he announced his candidacy for the United States Senate in 2026. He defeated U . representative Jasmine Crockett in the Democratic primary and will face Republican candidate Ken Paxton in the general election.

Infobox

Preceded by
Larry Gonzales
Constituency
52nd district (2018–2023) 50th district (2023–present)
Born
(1989-05-17) May 17, 1989 Round Rock, Texas, U .
Party
Democratic
Education
University of Texas at Austin (BA) Harvard University (MEd) Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary (MDiv)
Website
Office website Campaign website

Tables

2018 Texas House of Representatives 52nd district special election · Electoral history
Total votes
Total votes
Party
Total votes
Party
63,348
Candidate
100
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Democratic
James Talarico
32,235
50
Republican
Cynthia Flores
31,113
49
Total votes
63,348
100
Democratic gain from Republican
2018 Texas House of Representatives 52nd district election · Electoral history
Party
Party
Primary election
Party
Primary election
Candidate
Primary election
Votes
Primary election
%
Total votes
Total votes
Primary election
Total votes
Primary election
7,499
Primary election
100
General election
General election
Primary election
General election
Total votes
Total votes
Primary election
Total votes
Primary election
71,138
Primary election
100
Primary election
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Democratic
James Talarico
7,499
100
Total votes
7,499
100
General election
Democratic
James Talarico
36,798
51
Republican
Cynthia Flores
34,340
48
Total votes
71,138
100
Democratic gain from Republican
2020 Texas House of Representatives 52nd district election · Electoral history
Party
Party
Primary election
Party
Primary election
Candidate
Primary election
Votes
Primary election
%
Total votes
Total votes
Primary election
Total votes
Primary election
17,888
Primary election
100
General election
General election
Primary election
General election
Total votes
Total votes
Primary election
Total votes
Primary election
98,131
Primary election
100
Primary election
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Democratic
James Talarico (incumbent)
17,888
100
Total votes
17,888
100
General election
Democratic
James Talarico (incumbent)
50,520
51
Republican
Lucio Valdez
47,611
48
Total votes
98,131
100
Democratic hold
2022 Texas House of Representatives 50th district election · Electoral history
Party
Party
Primary election
Party
Primary election
Candidate
Primary election
Votes
Primary election
%
Total votes
Total votes
Primary election
Total votes
Primary election
11,614
Primary election
100
General election
General election
Primary election
General election
Total votes
Total votes
Primary election
Total votes
Primary election
47,991
Primary election
100
Primary election
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Democratic
James Talarico (incumbent)
9,117
78
Democratic
David Alcorta
2,497
21
Total votes
11,614
100
General election
Democratic
James Talarico (incumbent)
36,881
76
Republican
Victor Johnson
9,718
20
Libertarian
Ted Brown
1,392
2
Total votes
47,991
100
Democratic hold

References

  1. In 2018, Talarico was concurrently elected in the special election and the regular election, so both elections were considered a flipped seat for the Democrats.
  2. Texas Monthly
    2026
    https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/james-talarico-next-great-hope-texas-democrats/
  3. Austin American-Statesman
    1989
    https://www.newspapers.com/article/austin-american-statesman-collins/198018805/
  4. The Times
    2026
    https://www.thetimes.com/us/american-politics/article/james-talarico-texas-democrat-trump-maga-b0rsvl3sr
  5. The New Yorker
    2026
    https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/03/02/james-talarico-profile
  6. NewsNation
    2025
    https://www.newsnationnow.com/cuomo-show/rising-texas-democrat-jesus-is-the-reason-im-in-politics/
  7. The Daily Texan
    2019
    https://web.archive.org/web/20190203214422/http://www.dailytexanonline.com/2019/01/30/freshman-lawmakers-jon-rosenthal-james-talarico-reflect-on-how-ut-impacted-their-future
  8. "University of Texas Grapples With Tuition, Funding"
    2009
    https://abcnews.go.com/OnCampus/story?id=6967559&page=1
  9. Austin Chronicle
    2019
    https://www.austinchronicle.com/news/2019-01-04/representative-james-talarico-on-the-86th-texas-legislature/
  10. "State Rep. James Talarico enters Democratic primary for U . Senate"
    2025
    https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/politics/2025/09/09/530359/state-rep-james-talarico-enters-democratic-primary-for-u-s-senate/
  11. Politico
    2023
    https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/06/16/james-talarico-texas-democrats-00101231
  12. "A Democrat in Texas Thinks Faith and Honesty Can Win a Senate Campaign"
    2025
    https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/09/us/politics/talarico-texas-senate.html
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