Senate Candidate Reports Massive Fundraising Haul In Bid To Flip Seat Blue

Texas Democrat Senate candidate James Talarico said Wednesday that his campaign had hauled in $27 million during the first quarter of 2026 as he seeks to flip the seat blue.

Talarico said the total marks a record for money raised by a Senate candidate in the first quarter of an election year. The leftist Democrat is set to face the winner of the GOP primary runoff between incumbent Sen. John Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

“Grassroots contributors from almost every county in Texas are sending Washington, D.C. a clear message: they’re tired of this broken, corrupt political system and they’re ready to take back Texas for working people,” Talarico said. “We’re bringing Democrats, Republicans, and Independents together to end billionaire control over our politics and bring down costs for families across our state.”

Talarico’s campaign said that 97% of contributions were $100 or less, adding that many of the donations came from teachers.

“Winning in Texas will require unprecedented resources. The grassroots fundraising haul puts our movement in a strong position to spread our message in some of the most expensive media markets in the country,” said Talarico campaign manager Seth Krasne.

Large fundraising totals have not always translated into victories for Democrats in high-profile Senate races.

In 2018, Beto O’Rourke raised $38 million during the third quarter of his challenge to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) but ultimately lost by about 2.6 percentage points.

In 2020, Democrat Jaime Harrison raised $57 million in the third quarter for his bid against Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), the highest quarterly total in Senate history, but lost by more than 10 percentage points.

Talarico, a state representative, has a reputation for backing leftist policies on several social issues. During his time in the legislature, he has opposed legislation that restricted transgender medical procedures for minors, including a 2023 law addressing surgeries and cross-sex hormone procedures.

In April 2019, he also spoke out against a bill that would expand the definition of child abuse to include parents who do not affirm their child’s so-called gender identity.