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jasmine crockett
Talarico Win Shows Democrats Can't 'Write Off Latinos Who Voted for Trump': Ex-Sanders Strategist
Democratic operative Chuck Rocha described Talarico as "a special candidate" who "ran the right kind of race at the right time."
Mar 04, 2026
James Talarico's victory in the Democratic US Senate primary in Texas on Tuesday shows why it would be a mistake to think Latino voters who jumped ship to support President Donald Trump in 2024 are a lost cause, according to Democratic strategist Chuck Rocha.
Rocha, who worked on Sen. Bernie Sanders' (I-Vt.) 2020 presidential campaign and who is a senior adviser for Talarico's campaign, told the Wall Street Journal that the Democratic Senate hopeful won over Latino support in Texas by focusing on a populist economic message first and foremost, such as when he accused US billionaires of "stealing from the American people, stealing the wealth that we created."
"Latinos are an aspirational people, and they want to aspire," said Rocha. "And they are also religious people, and they're... for economic populism."
The Journal noted that Talarico easily bested his rival for the nomination, US Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas), by roughly 27 percentage points in Texas counties whose populations are 60% or more Latino, including counties in the southern part of the state that were longtime Democratic strongholds that swung to Trump in 2024.
The lesson of the election for Democrats, Rocha told the Journal, is "don’t write off Latinos that voted for Donald Trump."
In a video posted on social media Wednesday, Rocha elaborated on how Talarico and his campaign secured the nomination, calling the Texas Democrat "a special candidate" who "ran the right kind of race at the right time."
The facts about how @TeamTalaricoHQ won last night pic.twitter.com/1IUd9VpPUh
— Chuck Rocha (@ChuckRocha) March 4, 2026
Beyond that, Rocha said, Talarico and his staff were simply relentless campaigners willing to seek votes wherever they could find them.
"He won because he showed up in communities," Rocha said. "He ran advertising in those communities. He had an amazing field team of 28,000 volunteers, over 600 community events in just eight weeks. They sent over 4 million peer-to-peer texts."
Rocha said that it was too soon to say whether Talarico's message meant that Latino voters were returning to Democrats more broadly, but added, "They will move back for James Talarico if you show up and give them a hopeful message."
Rocha's enthusiasm for Talarico was echoed by Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas), chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.
"James Talarico is the future of the Democratic Party," Casar declared in a social media post. "He unites working people of all kinds to take on the billionaires who are making life unaffordable. He’s going to show Texas Republicans how powerful working people are when we stand together. On to victory in November."
Mark McKinnon, a one-time Texas political operative who has worked for both Republicans and Democrats, said in an interview with Politico that Talarico's victory would be an unwelcome development for the Texas GOP, which will have to work harder to defeat him than other prospective Democratic nominees.
"A perfect storm is lining up for Texas Democrats," McKinnon said. "They have a nominee who can appeal to moderates and soft Republicans. Talarico could be Moses who leads the Lone Star Democrats out of the desert they’ve been in for 35 years."
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Outspoken Pro-Palestinian Pastor Wins Primary to Replace Crockett in House
A group that tracks pro-Israel lobbying said his victory "proves that the AIPAC era is over."
Mar 04, 2026
A pro-Palestine pastor has won the Democratic primary to fill the House seat in Texas that will be left behind by the pro-Israel Rep. Jasmine Crockett, who was a congregant at his church for years.
Frederick Haynes III, who has led the Friendship-West Baptist Church in Dallas for more than 40 years and was chosen by the late Rev. Jesse Jackson to lead his famed Rainbow PUSH coalition, won the primary for the seat now held by the two-term congresswoman with 72% of the vote.
Crockett announced in December that she would run for the US Senate rather than for reelection to her House seat.
Haynes—who campaigned on Medicare for All, abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and hiking the minimum wage—was endorsed by Crockett (D-Texas), who lost the bitterly contested Senate primary to state Rep. James Talarico (D-50) on Tuesday.
But where Crockett has faced heat from the Democratic base over her statements and votes in support of Israel amid its genocide in Gaza and her backing by pro-Israel megadonors, Haynes's credibility was bolstered by his willingness to call out Israel's human rights abuses against Palestinians when few other Democrats would.
On October 8, 2023, as Israel was just beginning what would become a two-year campaign to destroy Gaza in retaliation for Hamas' killing of around 1,200 Israelis the previous day, Haynes delivered a sermon questioning what was then a bipartisan consensus of unwavering military and diplomatic support for Israel.
“I recognize that we’ve got to be pro-Israel... or we get in trouble,” he said, echoing the views of a small number of progressive members of Congress at the time. “Well, I’m coming to get in trouble.”
Quoting former President Jimmy Carter, he said, "Israel is engaging in apartheid with Palestinians."
The Palestinians... don’t have the weaponry of Israel, the Palestinians don’t have the financial backing from the United States that Israel has. And so they throw their rocks and shoot their arrows, and Israel is able to bomb them and kill them. Watch in the news the disparity between Palestinians being killed and Israelis being killed. It is totally unfair. But this country is going to stand on the side of apartheid because that’s its track record.
It was a speech that would prove prescient, as Israel’s military campaign would result in the deaths of around 73,000 Palestinians in the coming years, according to official tallies from the Gaza Health Ministry, nearly 70% of whom were women and children, according to the United Nations Human Rights Office. Independent estimates suggest the actual death toll is much higher.
In that time, neither Democratic former President Joe Biden nor current Republican President Donald Trump cut off weapons sales despite a tremendous collapse of public support for Israel.
Haynes' run for Congress began mere months ago. After testifying against Republicans' efforts to racially gerrymander Texas in July, he waited right up until the federal filing deadline in December to announce a bid for Crockett's seat.
His campaign did not focus heavily on the Israel-Palestine conflict—instead emphasizing issues closer to home like the high cost of living, voting rights, and Trump's use of ICE to attack immigrant and minority communities.
But the virality of his past comments and his campaigning for the Biden administration to cut off weapons to Israel back in 2024 bolstered his image as a fighter for Palestinian rights, which earned him the endorsement of Justice Democrats and $72,000 in support from the American Priorities PAC, a newly formed group intended to support progressive candidates and counter the influence of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).
His victory on Tuesday comes as Palestinian rights have become vastly more salient among Democratic voters and the public at large. Less than a week ago, a Gallup poll showed that for the first time, a larger percentage of Americans sympathize with the Palestinians than the Israelis.
While support for Israel was also not at the forefront of the Senate primary, both Talarico and Crockett avoided joining the bulk of the party base in calling the US-backed Israeli assault on Gaza a "genocide." However, Talarico referred to the destruction of Gaza as a "moral and spiritual emergency" and condemned Israeli "war crimes."
Haynes's district is considered one of the safest in Texas for Democrats, and he is believed to be the overwhelming favorite to win the seat in November and head to Congress.
The group AIPAC Tracker, which monitors donations that politicians receive from the powerful group and the rest of the pro-Israel lobby, said that Haynes’ “big win” on Tuesday “proves that the AIPAC era is over.”
"Candidates like him all over the country," they said, "are speaking the truth rather than running away in fear."
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Texas Democratic Primary Turnout Surges in Show of 'Strong Enthusiasm' From Base Voters
Texas Democratic primary turnout has already broken records in both Harris County and Tarrant County.
Feb 26, 2026
Turnout among early Democratic voters in Texas has been surging in what election analysts say is a key sign for what's to come in the 2026 midterm elections.
As CNN reported on Thursday, early voting data shows that more than 850,000 ballots have so far been cast in the Texas Democratic primary, which is "nearly 60% more than the number of votes cast at the same point in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary."
CNN said that this high turnout points to "a continuing trend of strong enthusiasm among the party's base."
To put this in perspective, the Texas Tribune noted that "more ballots have been cast in Texas through the first seven days of early voting for the 2026 midterms than any recent midterm or presidential election year," driven primarily by Democratic turnout.
The Tribune added that Democratic turnout has already broken records in Harris County, the most populous county in Texas, and in Tarrant County, where Democrat Taylor Rehmet earlier this year pulled off an upset victory in a district that President Donald Trump carried by 17 points in the 2024 election.
In breaking down the early turnout numbers so far, CNN polling analyst Harry Enten said on Wednesday that Democrats in Texas may actually outvote Republicans in a primary this year for the first time since 2002.
Enten also said that the turnout surge has big implications for the 2026 midterms.
"When we're talking nationally, primary turnout matters," he explained. "The fact that more people are voting on the Democratic side in Texas at this point, that translates nationally, that would suggest Democrats [are] well on their way to winning the House. And in a red state like Texas? As I said: Mind blown."
Mind blown about the early vote in Texas. TX Dems may outvote the GOP for the 1st time in a midterm primary since 2002!
This indicates they're well on their way to having higher primary turnout nationally & since 06 the party w/ higher primary turnout won the House every time. pic.twitter.com/QaBlWZOCi2
— (((Harry Enten))) (@ForecasterEnten) February 25, 2026
While winning the primary turnout battle wouldn't guarantee a Democratic victory the Texas US Senate general election, Politico reported on Thursday that Republicans in the state are growing nervous about the race.
In particular, Republicans fear that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a highly divisive figure even among Texas Republicans, could win the nomination over incumbent Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas).
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) told Politico that Cornyn is "the best candidate on the ballot in a general election, not only for the Senate, but also for down-ballot races in the House that could be impacted by the Senate race too. He added that the GOP would likely have to spend more money propping up Paxton should he win the Republican nomination.
"Honestly, if you look at the polling in a general election setting," said Thune, "I don’t think it’s outside the realm of possibility that the seat [flips], depending on who the Democrats nominate."
US Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) and Texas state Rep. James Talarico are the two leading Democrats battling for the party's US Senate nomination. A survey released Wednesday by pollsters from the University of Texas found that Crockett is leading Talarico in the primary race by 12 percentage points.
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