James Talarico is Ready to Turn Texas Blue

0:00Ben Meiselas:Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile, with a message for everyone paying big wireless way too much. Please, for the love of everything good in this world, stop. With Mint, you can get premium wireless for just$15 a month. Of course, if you enjoy overpaying, no judgments, but that's weird. Okay, one judgment. Anyway, give it a try at mintmobile.com slash switch. Upfront payment of$45 for three-month plan, equivalent to$15 per month required. Intro rate first three months only, then full price plan options available. Taxes and fees extra. See full terms at mintmobile.com. Enjoy the sunshine with sales on grill ready favorites from Whole Foods Market.

0:34Ben Meiselas:Take cookouts to sizzling new heights with their marinated salmon and made in house marinated beef and chicken. Entertain with low price 365 brand chips and dips like hummus and guacamole and sweeten every party with brown butter chocolate chip cookies. Remember to pack the cooler with probiotic sodas, sparkling waters and more. Summer savings await you at Whole Foods Market. Donald Trump's approval is plummeting in Texas. Net negative 19, according to the latest Economist poll. Donald Trump and the GOP losing support in Texas. Is Texas turning blue? We got the latest polling results out on hypothetical Senate matchups in Texas, where James Tallarico, the Democratic candidate, would be leading plus five in a hypothetical matchup.

1:26Ben Meiselas:with the MAGA Republican Trump endorsed candidate, Ken Paxton, the most corrupt human being, perhaps not just in the country, and that's saying a lot, but the entire world, leads five against Paxton. He's up three in a head-to-head against John Cornyn right there, who Donald Trump passed over after Cornyn did everything he could try to do at the last minute to get Donald Trump's endorsement. Now you have Cornyn panicked as this evening is Judgment Day. The Republican primary is taking place. And by most expectations, Ken Paxton is now expected to beat Korn. And although we'll see what the results ultimately show.

2:12Ben Meiselas:And so now MAGA Republican Senator Korn, who tries to act like I'm a little more centrist, if you will. Meanwhile, Donald Trump was posting these AI photos of himself hunting rhinos, Republicans in name oldie, which I think was also a message directed at Cornyn. And Cornyn said the following about, you know, how how he believes that Paxton is going to basically destroy Republican chances of keeping control of the Senate. And it could trickle down to congressional races. Here play this clip. Ken Paxton's flaws and the baggage she brings to the general election is going to be exploited to the fullest by James Tallarico and by Democrats.

2:53Ben Meiselas:James Tallarico raised$27 million in just the first quarter of this year. Now, one of the things we're seeing as well is Trump losing Latino support at massive, massive rates. Take a listen right here as it's described on CNN with Harry Enten. Play this. You know, where are we now? What a different world. Oy vey if I'm the president of the United States, because just take a look here. OK, Latino voters on Trump. He won a record share for a Republican presidential nominee. Forty six percent of that vote going all the way back since we had the advent of exit polls back in nineteen hundred and seventy two.

3:31Ben Meiselas:And look at where he is today. His job approval rating in an average of CNN polls this year, 28 percent. That is an 18-point drop. The bottom has completely fallen out when it comes to Donald Trump and Latino voters. He won record numbers of them back in 2024, and they have abandoned him with the utmost just dislike of what he is doing so far. Just 28%, a drop of 18 points. Now, among Latinos, it was Latino men who were driving this movement toward him in 2024. Where are they now? Yeah, you think that this movement is a lot? What about Latino men? Oh, my goodness gracious. okay latino male voters in the 2024 election versus kamala harris look at this trump won him by 10 points look at the net approval rating now minus 41 points that is a movement of 51 points a shift away from the president united states latino male voters supercharged that record performance that donald trump had with latino voters and they like latino women latinas are moving against the president of the United States, minus 41 points.

4:36Ben Meiselas:Again, the bottom has just completely fallen out. And of course, when you look across that political map, there are so many races that will be involving a lot of Latino voters. And when you see numbers like this, I just go, uh-oh, if I am a Republican running for Congress. And the main area where he's losing support amongst Latino voters is also where it relates to the economy. Donald Trump was making all of these promises. I'm going to make your lives better. And he's really harmed the economic outlook in the Latino community and across the country in general. Play this clip. But one of those races in just a moment.

5:12Ben Meiselas:But wait, there's more before that, which is, look, this new CNN poll this week talked about just how people have enormous concerns about the economy and enormous disapproval of the president on it. What are Latinos saying about that? Yeah. OK, I'm going to take two for one here. It's a two for one special here on a Friday or a mid-Friday morning, I guess. Latino voters on Trump and the economy. Look, one of the big reasons why Donald Trump put in that record performance with Latinos back in 2024 was because the issue of the economy. They trusted Donald Trump by a three-point margin against Kamala Harris.

5:44Ben Meiselas:But look at his net approval rating on the economy now. Oh, yeah. Johnny B said it best over there. Look at that. Minus 46 points. That's, again, another near 50-point movement against the president of the united states on the number one issue no wonder the bottom has fallen out with latino voters and latino men in particular and you're talking about one of those races right johnny b one of those races why don't we go to texas right the chance that the dems win the texas center race of course james tellerico going to be that democratic nominee look at this in january look at this he had a 19 chance of winning look Look at where we are now, a 45 % chance of winning.

6:21Ben Meiselas:That number is up through the roof. And part of the reason that number is up through the roof is because a lot of Latino voters turning against President Trump. And it could be that they turn against Republican nominees for Congress and for the United States Senate in particular. President Trump just speak. And now even state regime media, which calls itself Fox, they're out there saying, look, Ken Paxton is a really flawed candidate. If he were to win in this Republican primary for the United States Senate, Republicans are in big trouble of now losing the United States Senate. Here's what they said on Fox.

6:53Ben Meiselas:Let's play this clip. And Cornyn is a prohibit, like a huge, prolific fundraiser, very popular. So I think the caucus was pretty down yesterday. Hopefully John Cornyn can still win because Ken Paxson is extremely flawed candidate. And I sense the worst is yet to come about his background. And I guess you have Ken Paxson going around and I guess his line of attack on James Tallarico is to call Tallarico tofu Tallarico. And Trump's like, the guy's a vegan. He's, first off, he's not a vegan. Tofu Tallarico. I mean, there are so many significant issues that are going on. You making up that the guy's a vegan.

7:29Ben Meiselas:We'd be nothing wrong if he was, but he isn't. And then calling him tofu Tallarico. What are you? Three years old. Three-year-olds don't behave like this. No offense to three-year-olds. Let's play this clip. I've got one more. No food, Tallarico. I think you're watching. So is Texas a purple state now? Is Texas turning blue? What's going to happen tonight in the Republican primaries with Ken Paxton and John Cornyn? How is that going to impact the general election? Let's bring in James Tallarico, Democratic candidate for Senate seat in Texas. James, it's great to see you. What are you, I mean, everyone wants to know your perspective of what you're thinking about tonight.

8:15Ben Meiselas:Ken Paxton, John Cornyn, I know you put out statements. They're both, you know, MAGA billionaire class people. You're going to take them on regardless. But what are you thinking going into this evening? Yeah, you know, on primary night a few months ago, I said it doesn't matter what happens in this Republican runoff because we already know who we're running against. We're running against the billionaire megadonors who have taken over this political system, who've taken over this economic system. And both Ken Paxton and John Cornyn have a history of serving those billionaire megadonors instead of serving the people of Texas.

8:51So in my mind, they are two sides of the same corrupt coin. And I look forward to prosecuting the case against either Paxton or Cornyn, whoever comes out of the runoff tonight.

9:03Ben Meiselas:All right. Can we do the choose your own adventure novel here, though, and do Paxton and then and then do Cornish? I mean, let's choose our adventure. Trump endorses Paxton, one of the most corrupt individuals in Texas, perhaps the world, like one of the most corrupt individuals in the world and maybe human history. You know, and so he's out there, ultra mega Trump. You give me marching orders directly. What I was. So let's let's talk about that path. What do you what goes down there? Yeah, Ken Paxton embodies everything that's wrong with our political system. He was impeached by his own party for using his public office to enrich himself and his donors at our expense.

9:48And that kind of corruption is the rot at the core of this broken system. It's why we can't afford anything. It's why we can't get ahead no matter how hard we work because billionaires buy these politicians like Ken Paxton and then these puppet politicians turn around and rig the rules of the game in favor of the billionaires at our expense. And so this has been happening for 50 years in this country. Mega donors and their puppet politicians have been stealing from the American people, from the people of Texas, stealing the wealth that we created through their bribes, their bailouts, and their billionaire tax breaks.

10:27And so I look forward to not only running against Ken Paxton, but running against the broken system that he embodies.

10:35Ben Meiselas:You got Senator Cornyn. Donald, you want me to name a road after you? What can I do? Please endorse me, Donald. Please endorse me, Donald. Donald Trump then does not endorse him. And now he's saying, well, Paxton's going to lose to Tallarico now. And now you're going to cost us the Senate, Donald. and now I'm going to potentially grow a backbone for 48 hours. And now I'll vote against you on things in the Senate because I didn't get your endorsement. And then you see that kind of play out where now he and some Republicans finally are like, well, now that I didn't get the endorsement, now I'm going to speak out against you here and there.

11:11Yeah. You know, Ken Paxton embodies illegal corruption. It's why he was impeached. It's That's why he was indicted. But John Cornyn embodies the legalized corruption that we have in our political system. John Cornyn was the deciding vote on that big, ugly bill, the big, ugly bill that's going to kick millions of Texans off their healthcare, the big, ugly bill that's going to take food out of the mouths of hungry Texas children, all to give yet another tax break to John Cornyn's billionaire mega donors. So in some ways, they have both used their office to enrich their mega donors. Ken Paxton did it in a literal, illegal way.

11:55John Cornyn has done it in a legal way, but at a much bigger scale. I mean, by casting the deciding vote on that big, ugly bill, John Cornyn committed an act of corruption of the highest order. And it's why neither he nor Ken Paxton deserve the honor of representing this great state in our nation's capital.

12:15Ben Meiselas:You're touring the great state of Texas right now. The data that I shared at the beginning of this video shows major momentum in your direction for Democrats generally, but to me, less than like a political party, just people who stand up for the rule of law, democracy, and who fight for them. Are you been in Texas politics now? You've seen, are you seeing these change? Talk to us about what you are seeing on the ground. I've never seen anything like this in Texas. And I'm an eighth generation Texan. My family's been here since it was Mexico. And there is something unique happening in our state in this year, in this race.

12:55You know, I've been able to travel to every corner of the state from Beaumont to El Paso, from Amarillo to Brownsville and everywhere in between. And we have had tens of thousands of Texans showing up to rally with us. And I can't tell you the number of Texans who come up to me at the end of these events and whisper, I'm not a Democrat, like they're in the witness protection program. We are reaching out to people who have never voted for a Democrat before and who I think are joining this campaign because they're hungry for a different kind of politics. They're hungry for someone who's going to confront the extremism and the corruption in our government.

13:38They're hungry for someone who's going to fight to lower their costs and raise their pay and cut their taxes and ensure that the American dream is still possible in the state of Texas, in this country. And so, you know, we've seen it in the number of people signing up to volunteer. We have 45 ,000 people who have signed up to knock doors and make phone calls and send text messages and write postcards. People all over the country. We have shattered grassroots fundraising records all without taking a dime from corporate PACs. people giving five, 10,$15 at a time. And so if anybody is watching this program or listening to this podcast, please go to jamestalerico.com and sign up to volunteer or donate yourself, because we're going to be up against a machine.

14:23We're going to be up against some of the most corrupt politicians, some of the biggest billionaire mega donors in American politics. And they know that if we win Texas, we will transform American politics in the process. And so we're going to need everybody to step up and join this movement, whether you live in Texas or not. It's going to take all of us to pull off this feat of winning Texas in November of this year.

14:46Ben Meiselas:You know, they've already began their attacks on you and, you know, some of the kind of, you know, weirdest, you know, and bizarre ones. They're like, he's a vegan. They don't even know how to say that. He's a vegan. And you're not, you know, and then they go, let's call him Tofu, man. Let's call him Tofu. too, which is ridiculous. The whole thing is ridiculous. I want to hear your response to just kind of not that, but just in general, stepping into this and seeing what they're doing when they put a trillion dollar media machine behind attacking you. But my thesis ultimately is, maybe that stuff worked two years ago or three years ago when people were also being pitched, we're going to make your life so much better and it's going to be affordable on day one and we're going to do so much things.

15:34Ben Meiselas:It's going to be great. But like the bill is now due. And I think whether you're in Texas or whatever, you're like, okay, you promised me this stuff. It ain't happening right now. And you're not going to just divide and I get it. You're not going to make me vote for you by saying the word tofu over and over again. Like where the heck is my doge dividend check that you promised? And where's, where's, where's, where's my savings that you promised me? You screwed me. That's right. That's right. And you know, I'm an eighth generation Texan. I've been eating barbecue since before Ken Paxton's first indictment.

16:06And if all they have on me is lying about me being a vegan, I feel pretty good about our chances this November. And you're absolutely right. So many of my family members, my friends, my neighbors who voted for Donald Trump in 2024, they voted for him because they thought he was going to lower costs. They thought he was going to end the forever wars. They thought he was going to release the Epstein files and drain the swamp. But just one year later, they've seen how he's done the exact opposite. Through his crazy tariffs, he's made everything more expensive. He has started even more conflicts around the world, including this new forever war in Iran.

16:47He has done everything he could to keep the Epstein files from seeing the light of day. And the swamp in Washington is bigger than it's ever been. So there's a lot of disillusionment. And what I'm trying to do is speak directly to those Texans who feel disillusioned, who feel like this system doesn't work for them, that it only works for billionaires and puppet politicians like Paxton and Cornyn. And I think if we can bring those Texans together across all these divisions in our politics, if we can see past the distractions and the culture war tactics, I think we can do something extraordinary.

17:23We can end 30 years of one party rule in Texas, and we can transform to transform American politics in the process. And that gets me excited every day to hit the campaign trail and talk directly to Texans about the things they actually care about.

17:39Ben Meiselas:James, before we go, where can people learn more about your campaign and anything else you want to say to our 7 million subscribers before you go? Well, anybody can sign up to join us at jamestalerico.com. You can sign up to volunteer or donate. You can also find me on all the major social media platforms. and I encourage everyone to get involved in this campaign in Texas. We're leading in every public and private poll. It's the first time a Texas Democrat has been leading in the polls. And so we have a real shot at winning this race in Texas. And I don't have to tell your listeners and your viewers what that would mean for the political landscape in the state of Texas.

18:18So please sign up, please help us win this race and take power back for working people in this country.

18:26Ben Meiselas:James Tallarico, thanks for all you do. Thanks for joining us. Thank you. Everybody hit subscribe. Let's get to 7 million subscribers.