Texas Senate Upset Defies Billionaire Cash

James Talarico said voters wanted change after his campaign won a Texas Senate race despite Elon Musk spending hundreds of millions of dollars against him. Talarico called for big money out of politics, including bans on corporate PACs and super PACs. Billionaires and trillionaires shouldn't be able to buy elections.

“The people of Texas, the people of this country, from what I can tell, demanded an end to that politics of division practiced by people in both parties,” Talarico told Adam Wren in a phone interview Wednesday, the morning after the election. He cautioned, though, against treating the result as proof that Texans had become partisan Democrats. “Texans voted for change last night — not necessarily for one party over the other,” he said.

Who Gets to Spend

Talarico said Musk spent hundreds of millions of dollars against him. He also named Tim Dunn and Farris Wilks among the mega donors who tried to install Ken Paxton in the U.S. Senate. Asked about Congress saying it would investigate Musk, Talarico said wrongdoing should face accountability if it occurred, but argued that systemic reform could prevent a repeat.

His proposal targets the funding channels he said let the wealthy buy influence: corporate PACs and super PACs. The interview offered no details of a legislative plan or how such bans would be enacted. Talarico's campaign won through the same electoral contest whose financing he criticized. The money question remains larger than the result.

Talarico also described the pressure of running against Republicans, including Vice President JD Vance, who falsely suggested Talarico was gay and had a questionable web browser history. Posts on X in October imagined Talarico at a mental institution in Ohio, and he said he faced death threats. During the campaign, he worried about whether his own fundraising texts were honest. He called his opponent, Ken Paxton, a “child of God.”

A Win, Not a Blank Check

Talarico said he had spoken with conservatives, including people who consider themselves Republicans, who wanted an end to extremism and corruption. He cited the war in Iran, tariffs, New World screwworm and data centers as issues people discussed, and said people across the political spectrum felt government at all levels wasn't working for them. Those are his account of voters' concerns; the interview didn't include direct interviews with those voters.

He argued that candidates who connect with Texans, address their needs and build a big tent could succeed in the state. Texas, he said, was on the 2028 presidential map. “I would urge every 2028 candidate to vigorously compete in our state,” he said. His call was for more candidates to contest the state through elections, not a claim that the result had ended the political divisions he described.

Talarico said his campaign appeared to have won Texas by double digits. He called it “the biggest win in the hardest state against the most money.” He credited his team, social media, prominent Texans who served as validators and gains among Hispanic voters. The campaign put Texas values, shared history and culture, music, food, land and stories ahead of partisanship or public policy as its foundation.

Faith, Campaigns and Power

Talarico launched his Senate campaign in September 2025, one day before the killing of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk. Local officials suggested a campaign event that evening could pose a security risk. Talarico went ahead, spoke for five minutes and eulogized Kirk rather than promoting his candidacy. He called Kirk “our sibling, our brother” and said, “I think his murder, his assassination, really shaped the entire campaign.”

A seminarian, state lawmaker and former middle school teacher, Talarico said the Democratic Party made a “huge mistake 50 years ago” by ceding religion to political opponents. “I don't think Jesus would be a Democrat or a Republican,” he said. He described love as “the why, the how, and the what of my life and of my politics,” and said he hoped the campaign began a new chapter for the party. The victory may have opened a path for Democrats in Texas; in Talarico's own account, the fight over big money still demands systemic change.