Texas state Rep. James Talarico, running for the U.S. Senate as a Democrat, frames his campaign around affordability and rooting out corruption, arguing Texans are ready to reject extremism and pay-to-play politics. In an interview with CBS News’ Ed O’Keefe, Talarico accused Sen. John Cornyn and Attorney General Ken Paxton of putting donors’ interests ahead of everyday Texans and said his campaign targets “billionaire mega-donors” and a corrupt system that favors concentrated wealth. He cast the contest as less about left versus right and more about top versus bottom, seeking to unite working people across divisions around economic issues.
Talarico makes affordability central to his pitch. Citing his experience in a Republican-majority Texas Legislature, he points to bills he helped advance to lower costs for housing, child care and prescription drugs, and says that record of finding results across the aisle is what he would take to the U.S. Senate. He told personal stories about the strain of rising prices—housing, food, child care (which he noted can cost more than college in Texas), and insulin—and stressed that those pressures shape his agenda. As a state legislator who earns $7,200 a year and as a person with type 1 diabetes, he said higher drug prices have a direct, personal impact on his family.
He links the cost-of-living crunch to a broader corruption problem and outlined an anti-corruption package intended to reduce the influence of big money. Proposals include banning corporate PACs, preventing members of Congress from trading individual stocks while in office, banning partisan gerrymanders so voters choose their representatives, and other measures aimed at restoring competitive elections and making government more responsive to working people.
On the Democratic primary, Talarico described fellow candidate Rep. Jasmine Crockett as “on the same team” in the effort to change Texas politics, but highlighted his track record winning in hostile territory as evidence of his general-election viability. He pointed to flipping a Trump-leaning state House seat and building a broad coalition in red areas, including victories in counties that had not voted for a Democrat in decades, as proof he can win in statewide contests.
Talarico also weighed in on national security. Responding to recent events involving Iran, he said the Constitution requires Congress to declare war and that presidents should make the case to both Congress and the American people before committing forces. He rejected perpetual military engagements, warning of the human, financial and moral costs of “forever wars,” and insisted that any administration justify military actions to lawmakers.
Asked what the Democratic Party should stand for, he invoked the party’s working-class roots—citing the New Deal, the Great Society and the Affordable Care Act—and urged a practical, results-oriented approach rather than doctrinaire purity. He said Democrats should focus on policies that directly improve working people’s lives and welcome allies who want to reduce the influence of billionaires on politics.
Traveling across Texas from cities to small towns, Talarico said he has encountered a bipartisan backlash against extremism and corruption, with many voters privately disaffected from strict partisan labels. He described Texans as “friendly, hardworking, faithful” and said elected leaders should reflect those qualities. Looking ahead to a possible general election against Cornyn or Paxton, he said he would gladly make the case to voters that the real contest is against moneyed interests shaping policy.
He closed with a note on Texan character—and a lighter aside: beyond its politics, Texas has virtues worth defending, and, he added with a smile, some of the best food in the country.