James Talarico
Won the March 3, 2026 Democratic primary
James Talarico is a Democratic member of the Texas House of Representatives and a former middle school teacher running for the U.S. Senate seat held by John Cornyn.[1]
Basic profile — the most important sourced facts we found.
Positions on the issues
- SupportsRaise taxes on high earners or corporations
Says he would pay for a cost-of-living tax cut by closing tax loopholes and making the wealthiest Americans and large corporations "pay their fair share."[1]
“I’ll pay for it by closing tax loopholes and making the wealthiest Americans and giant corporations pay their fair share.”
- SupportsUniversal, publicly funded child care
Supports free pre-K for all three- and four-year-olds and investments in childcare for children under three.[1]
“I’ll fight for universal early childhood education, including free PreK for every three- and four-year-old, and strong investments in childcare for children under three to ensure childcare is affordable for low- and middle-income families.”
- OpposesPublic funding for school choice (vouchers / charters)
Says he will fight against a national school voucher program, describing it as diverting funding from public schools to private education.[1]
“I'm committed to strengthening our schools and fighting back against a national voucher scam that will defund schools to subsidize private education for the wealthiest.”
- OpposesBroad tariffs on imported goods
Proposes a "tariff rebate" for Americans, describing tariffs as raising costs on consumers.[1]
“provide a tariff rebate to Americans who have been paying too much for everything”
In their words — priorities
- Proposes a "cost-of-living tax cut" that would expand the Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit, restore ACA tax credits, and provide a tariff rebate, paid for by closing tax loopholes and raising taxes on wealthy individuals and large corporations.[1]
- Says he will prioritize legislation to cap campaign contributions, ban dark money groups and super PACs, and ban partisan gerrymandering.[1]
- Opposes a national school voucher program and says he will fight for universal early childhood education, including free pre-K for three- and four-year-olds.[1]
Background
Campaign money
Raised $68.6M · spent $47.0M · $21.5M cash on hand (through 2026-06-30) FEC filing ↗