A campaign rally for Texas Democrats’ U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico went on for about 90 minutes without him Tuesday evening — while roughly 300 attendees listened to mariachi and played Lotería for merch prizes.
The gathering was billed as a “community event,” and Talarico told reporters afterwards that he wanted his supporters to mingle and get to know one another beyond this campaign.
“So many political events are kind of, the candidate gets up and talks at the people,” Talarico said. “We wanted to do something where we bring folks together, build community, have some fun, support a great small business, and have an opportunity for folks to talk with each other.”
Texas has a governor’s race and many other contests on the Nov. 3 ballot — but the U.S. Senate race between Talarico and Republican Ken Paxton is by far drawing the most attention.
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Talarico is raising record-breaking sums of money, achieving a celebrity-level following on social media, and drawing out nontraditional supporters who are eager to see the 37-year-old in real life.
“He is probably the most eloquent person that I’ve seen running at this point … with the exception of [U.S. Sen. Jon] Ossoff (R-Georgia) — and maybe [former Transportation Secretary and Democratic presidential hopeful] Pete Buttigieg — but I put him right in there with that three,” said Curren Corder, a retired veterinarian from Alamo Heights, who was attending his first political rally Tuesday night.
Now Talarico’s campaign would like to harness that fandom to build some Democratic Party infrastructure in a state where it’s been sorely lacking.
Texas Democrats haven’t won a statewide race in more than 30 years, and struggled to build on their gains after the party’s last superstar, Beto O’Rourke, was no longer on the ballot.
In Talarico, however, they could soon have another opportunity.
“I watch all the things he does,” Corder said of the candidate. “But it’s the first time I’ve ever come to a live one, and I can’t wait to see it.”
Tuesday’s event, however, did include plenty of waiting.
On the steamy September evening, attendees lined up outside Backyard on Broadway well before the 7 p.m. start time. They passed a concert-style merch line, a bag check and a security screening with metal detection wands all before entering.
Around 7:30 p.m., a speaker started warming up the crowd with ice-breakers, including a show of hands for those at their first rally, first-time voters, and single people who might like to meet a fellow Democrat.
Then there was Lotería, mariachi music, and an opening speech from Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez (D2), who seemed to be buying time after finishing his brief prepared remarks.
When Talarico finally took the stage around 8:45 p.m., he first acknowledged Friday’s deadly storm that downed trees, ripped off roofs and left thousands without power.
“I know that this has been a tough week for San Antonio … with folks showing up to serve their neighbors, to serve each other,” Talarico said.
“As always, San Antonio has shown the world what it means to be a Texan,” he continued. “We need leaders in Austin and in Washington, who are going to show up for San Antonio.”
He spoke for about 10 minutes, and then many attendees stuck around for a photo line, where he cut away briefly to take questions from the media.
“These kind of events are, I think, indicative of the movement that we’re building in Texas,” Talarico said. “Bringing folks together, building community, so that we can take back power for each other, and that’s what we’re going to do in November.”
