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Talarico hopes to bolster Black support after defeating Crockett
Sheniqua Jones hoped her March 3 vote would help make history, sending U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett to the Senate as the first Black woman nominee from Texas.
When state Rep. James Talarico won instead, it left many of Crockett’s Black supporters wrestling with disappointment, even as they look toward November.
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“As a Black woman, it feels like voters think we can’t run the country,” Jones said. “We are needed in today’s world and one day we’ll win these races, if we are allowed.”
Now Jones, 40, a mother and small business owner, said she’s willing to give Talarico a chance, but only if he connects with what matters most to voters like her.
“He has to speak to the issues that we care about,” she said. “That’s how to get more people on his side.”
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That’s the case Talarico now has to make.
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To win in November, he must maximize Democratic turnout in a state where Republicans still hold the advantage, starting with Black voters, the party’s most reliable base.
That may not come easily. Talarico’s victory over Crockett left hard feelings among many of her backers in North Texas and beyond.
In the primary, some of Talarico’s supporters said Crockett’s combative style wouldn’t work statewide, clashing with Democrats who saw her as the kind of fighter needed to take on President Donald Trump.
At the Dallas County Democratic Party Convention last month, Talarico struck a conciliatory tone.
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“To the congresswoman’s supporters, I know I wasn’t your first choice, but I hope to earn your trust and earn your support,” he said.
Party leaders say words alone won’t be enough.
Frederick Haynes III, pastor of the megachurch Friendship-West and Democratic nominee to replace Crockett in the House, said he spoke with Talarico last month about the skepticism among her supporters.
“It’s one thing for Republicans to say it, but when your own party is whispering that Jasmine Crockett is unelectable…that is a wound that the community feels,” Haynes said. “He needs to be fully aware he's going to need an energized Black vote in the fall to flip this state.”
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Closing ranks
Others said Talarico still has work to do to unify the party.
“As a Black woman, it's frustrating because she was picked apart and demonized from the jump, and a lot of it was from Democrats,” said DeSoto City Council member Crystal Chism, a Crockett voter. “It felt like a them versus us.”
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Gerald Britt, an urban engagement consultant, said Talarico will have to earn his vote, even as he concedes Democrats have few other options.
“He needs to construct an argument as to why we need to vote for him,” Britt said. “It’s too easy to take our vote for granted, particularly in this race.”
As Talarico woos Crockett backers, he’s also reaching out to Latino voters and disaffected Republicans and MAGA voters to help seize the Senate seat.
”You need to come up with some new approaches to bring out the coalitions that we need,” state Sen. Royce West of Dallas said he told Talarico. That includes targeting eligible nonvoters, West said.
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Fall fight ahead
Many Black voters say they’re open to giving Talarico a chance, and many already have joined his fight against either Republican incumbent John Cornyn or Attorney General Ken Paxton.
The GOP nominee will be decided in a May 26 runoff but Republicans already have slammed Talarico as out of step with Texans.
Talarico did not make himself available for an interview, instead providing a statement: “I’m ready to engage on the issues and fight for them in the halls of power."
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After her defeat, Crockett said the Senate race was “bigger than one person” and stressed the need for Democratic unity.
The former rivals have yet to campaign together and party leaders are hoping for a joint appearance in the months ahead.
Brianna Brown, executive director of the Texas Organizing Project, said her group held listening sessions with Crockett supporters after the primary.
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Voters said they favor pushing back on Trump-era policies, restoring jobs lost in last year’s government cuts, raising the minimum wage and expanding access to affordable health care.
“People talked about how Talarico needs to stop signaling to MAGA or MAGA-adjacent folks and speak directly to Black folks,” Brown said of the post-election meetings.
Be specific, she said, “not nibble around the edges, about his agenda and how it speaks to Black people.”
Chism said Democrats need to put aside their differences and “snap out of it and snap into the race.”
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“We can’t win every battle, but we can win the war,” she said.
Matt Angle, director of the Democratic research group Lone Star Project, said turnout in the largest five counties must reach 41%, with Democrats carrying 64% there.
Black voters would need to exceed 12% of turnout, with about 90% support, plus gains in nearby suburbs.
“A Democrat can’t win a statewide race without that,” he said.
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Dallas County Democratic Party Chairman Kardal Coleman said Talarico must deliver clear, direct messaging. “Sometimes, Democrats talk above people's heads,” he said.
Expanding outreach
Talarico h
as made several moves to shore up his Black support.
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Earlier this month, he joined Dallas County Clerk candidate Damarcus Offord in a block walk. He’s met with North Texas party leaders and
organizers across the state. And he spoke Wednesday at Prairie View A&M University, a historically Black school near Houston.
For Texas Democrats, optimism often runs up against a state that leans firmly Republican.
Still, analysts say Talarico’s personal story could resonate. He has spoken openly about being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes and is studying to be a minister, weaving faith into his campaign.
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Terrance Woodbury, a Crockett pollster, said on CNN that Talarico has mastered putting religion in a political context.
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Woodbury said Democrats should “reclaim…values like religiosity” and talk about progressive issues “through a religious context,” an approach he said could appeal to Blacks.
Jones, after first backing Crockett, said she’s ready to put the primary behind her and focus on the November matchup.
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