Black voters were upset with James Talarico. What he did about it could decide the Senate.

Democrat James Talarico, a state lawmaker, has a real chance to become the first member of his party to win a Texas Senate seat since 1988, but his path against Republican nominee Ken Paxton, the state attorney general, runs through Black voters who were alienated by a bitter primary. MS NOW reports that Talarico defeated U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, whom most Black Texans backed, and that online attacks by some of his supporters, many of them racist or sexist, left lasting resentment. Crockett endorsed him but did not campaign with him.

In June, a University of Texas poll put his support among the state's 3 million Black voters at 67%, far too low for a statewide win. Content creators Camille McCallum and Olive Okoro, both Crockett backers, said they would vote for him but felt ignored, since his campaign had not contacted them at all.

Talarico responded with in-person outreach, influencer work and spending. By October that poll had him at 79%, and FiftyPlusOne averages showed him leading Paxton by 3.5 points. MS NOW credits his modesty as a key factor.

Summarized by PolitiKool from MS NOW’s reporting. Read the full story at MS NOW →