James Talarico Appears to Have a Black Voter Problem; Will He Overcome It?

Texas Democrat candidate for U.S. Senate James Talarico is trapped between two oncoming trains that are about to crash into each other. On the one hand, Talarico has been having fundraising success, mostly because he's done a great job of pretending to moderate his positions on transgenderism and aberrant Christian views, while claiming he now wants to secure the border. However, this moderation is not sitting well with his far Left progressive base. 

Just last week, Talarico wrapped up a 750-mile bus tour from El Paso to the Rio Grande Valley, claiming he wanted to show up, listen and learn from the border communities. His campaign posted videos about crowd sizes and vibes, trying to create buzz over an issue which President Donald Trump is handling quite ably.

Talarico's record as a state representative reflects the opposite of border security, so, this pivot will be one more thing that he will need to explain and outrun.

On the other hand, Black voters are not feeling Talarico and his moderation. On Sunday, Talarico had an exchange with a BLM Houston activist and registered nurse Kandice Webber at a Kingdom Builders Center town hall. 

My colleague Nick Arama reported on this and concluded:

While it's hard to assess just how deep that disturbance goes, obviously, any at all can be a problem for him, especially with polls showing the race to be very tight. Real Clear Politics has Paxton slightly up at +0.6.

Polymarket has Paxton up at 57 percent. So, believe that it's a deep disturbance, one that even the Houston Chronicle attempted to paper over as a "spirited debate."

State Rep. James Talarico, the Democratic candidate for U.S. senator from Texas, was about to answer the final question of a town hall in southwest Houston on Sunday when 50-year-old Kandice Webber stood up.

"Our people don't trust you for this reason," said Webber, who is Black, after the crowd quieted to listen. "And you cannot win without us. So you stay here, you answer our questions, or you suffer the consequences."

Talarico turned his attention to her and attempted to cool the tension: "I appreciate you being here, and I appreciate you traveling in and I appreciate you-"

"I came for my people, not for you," she said.

The crowd murmured. 

"It's alright, it's alright, it's alright," Talarico said. "This is what this conversation is supposed to be about."

He turned to answer more questions and push the event longer, but Webber stayed standing, visibly disappointed.

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Read More: 'Tired of Being Used': Family Hits Talarico Campaign

Watch: Talarico Gets Screamed at by Angry Black Voter at Houston Town Hall

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Talarico basically blew Webber off and refused to answer the question, as other attendees who posted the video also attest. After this exchange, Webber posted separate videos that were riddled with foul language, which is why I will only link them. Suffice to say, Webber is not happy with Talarico, especially his new cosplay as a white moderate and his efforts to gaslight Black voters that he feels their pain. 

Some of Webber's take:

"I hope they're not counting on my vote for Talarico, because he ain't gettin' it."

[...]

"Black folks, everyday Black people... we're gonna sit this sh*t out. We're going to undervote your a$$ James Talarico. Because I know civics."

"We've survived Ken Paxton as the AG. Moving that mfer down the road to the Senate, decreases his ability to terrorize and torture Black Texas voters, and Texas children." 

"[W]hat I will not have you do is instill your great White Hope into my *mf* people and watch you let us down. I'm not fixing to let you white moderates win."

Uh oh. 

The Democrat Party boosted Talarico and kneecapped Rep. Jasmine Crockett (TX-30), and then went on their merry way thinking that Black voters would just fall in line. But as the poll Arama referenced indicates, their plan hasn't quite fallen into place. So, after Talarico made a show of caring about the Southern border, he went to Houston to a curated "black church" event, and expected some glad-handing and selected responses would get him over.

The Black community will be pivotal for Talarico, who lost 8 of 10 Black votes in Houston and Dallas in his March primary win over U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett. He has stressed his commitment to Black voters along the campaign trail, visiting Prairie View A&M University; delivering a commencement address at Paul Quinn College, a historically Black college in Dallas; and visiting Mikki's Soul Food Cafe in Houston's Third Ward.

On Sunday, he committed $25 million to Black voter outreach, which he claimed was the largest such investment in Texas' modern political history. He told the audience that neither he nor his campaign is perfect, but he appealed for their trust as his race for the U.S. Senate heats up.

With less than four months before the November midterms, it is unclear whether Black Democrats will jump on the Talarico train. But if Webber's push back and the comments on her's and other's videos indicate, it it's not happening. If Webber holds to her commitment to actively oppose Talarico's campaign then he's in deeper trouble than even he realizes. There is a clear faction who want to see Paxton out of the Attorney General's office, so they'll gladly burn Talarico's house down to see it done. On the other hand, you have a faction that saw how cavalierly the Democrat establishment threw Crockett under the bus and their cultivated campaign to push Talarico down their throats, and they're throwing up the middle finger and sitting out the midterms. Many of these activists believe that not voting is a form of protest in and of itself, so they're fine with it. 

Talarico might want to rethink his strategy or find a way to get off the track.

Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.