U.S. Senate Hopeful James Talarico Raised Millions More in 3 Weeks Than Colin Allred Did in 3 Months

[douglas9]

If political fundraising is supposed to be a marathon, U.S. Senate hopeful James Talarico just showed up, sprinted past fellow Democrat Colin Allred, and then jogged a victory lap while counting $100 bills.

In just three weeks, Talarico — the 36-year-old Texas state rep turned Senate hopeful — pulled in a cool $6.2 million, Axios reported. That’s a lot more than the $4.1 million that Allred, his primary opponent and last year’s Democratic nominee, managed to scrape together in three months. Think of it this way: Allred is the guy who brings a six-pack to the party, and Talarico’s the guy who shows up with a refrigerated truck.

Talarico’s haul came from 125,000 donors across all 50 states, which is either proof of a national movement or just confirmation that people outside Texas enjoy watching Lone Star Democrats fight like roosters in a political cockfight. He’s branding himself as the fresh-faced outsider who can appeal to Christian voters, which, in Texas politics, is like saying you’re really good at breathing oxygen.

And now the national press is eating it up, too. Especially since Talarico garnered a ton of coverage during the House Texas Democrats’ quorum break battle for the redistricted congressional maps — while Allred, who is known for his history as a civil rights attorney, was nowhere to be seen. The New York Times just ran a glowing op-ed asking if he’s “the savior Democrats have been waiting for,” Politico magazine is name-dropping him in Obama gossip, saying that the former president “praised Talarico as an effective spokesperson for showing up on different media and platforms.”

https://thebarbedwire.com/2025/10/01/james-talarico-fundraising/

[yellowdogintexas]

1. In my long life of paying attention, I have never seen anything quite like him

He spoke in Granbury about 15 months ago and a group of us from Tarrant County Democratic Woman's Club went down to the event. We were just blown away by his warmth, intelligence, committment to government for the people and his opposition to the big money in Texas politics. He does not hesitate to call them out, whether it is about the School Voucher Scam, Christian Nationalism, the hate being sown nationwide, the risk we face in losing everything to these authoritarian oligarchs,

So I started following him on YouTube. If you are not already doing so you need to start. There are videos of him in action in the Texas House, and it is pure pleasure to watch him take down the Bible Thumpers on their 10 commandments bill, the "kitty litter pans in the classroom" and more. He can back those people into a corner so smoothly that they really don't know what has hit them, all without raising his voice or being aggressive in any way.

He declares openly that his faith defines his life, however he is adament on separation of church and state.

On Wednesday he came to Fort Worth and held a short notice rally. The venue was PACKED to the rafters! I honestly think that with a little more lead time, he could have filled the seats at Dickie's or the TCU gym . That night's speech is now up on YouTube

This one includes preliminary stuff but there is a shorter one that is just his speech. My state Representative Ramon Romero gave a rousing introductory for him and really revved up an already excited crowd.

If we can pull this off, he will be an extraordinary team mate for Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock. I look forward to seeing them kick butt and take names

For what it's worth, if you read comments on the various social media, he is receiving donations from all 50 states and several foreign countries. These donations average under $100 per person; he will not accept money from AIPAC, or corporate PACS.

It all comes down to voting.