James Talarico’s central message is being anti-billionaire, but he is still accepting billionaire donations
AUSTIN, Texas — State Rep. James Talarico, D-Austin, raised $6 million in the first three weeks of his bid for U.S. Senate, far ahead of his major rival, former U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, who raised $4 million in three months. Talarico entered the race with the central message of taking on “billionaire mega-donors and their puppet politicians.”
At least one democratic analyst applauds his strategy.
“Democrats took for granted that the middle class and working Texans and Americans understood that it’s Democrats that are ones that are lifting the weights for them and doing the work and spending political capital for them,” said Matt Angle of the Lone Star Project.
But Talarico took over $90,000 from billionaires in September. His latest campaign finance report shows individual donations from billionaires. Talarico has pledged not to take coporate PAC money during his campaign.
“There’s nothing wrong with raising money from all levels of the income scale. The problem is when you sell influence,” said Angle.
And a few of these billionaire donors, such as the Kleinerts related to oil billionaire Ray Hunt, will host a Dallas fundraiser for Talarico on Wednesday.
“James is the same person in every conversation. He is upfront and honest with anyone who donates to this campaign: they are supporting a movement to take power back for working people in a system rigged by billionaire mega-donors. If there are billionaires who believe they should be taxed more and their outsized political influence should be limited, they are welcome in this movement,” said Talarico spokesperson JT Ennis.
Political scientists say Talarico’s campaign still portrays a populist message.
“Talarico’s running a very populist campaign. That’s what he’s going to need to do if he’s going to win in Texas, getting traditional Democratic voters on his side, plus converting independents who are going to be anti-DC or anti-Austin,” said Brian Smith, a professor of political science at St. Edward’s University.
There is a fine line between being anti-billionaire and accepting money from the upper class. And that difference could be the difference between a win and a loss.
“Paxton and Cornyn are not going to be anti-billionaire or anti-corporate, and they’re going to take money wherever they can get it. And we know Talarico is going to need to be able to outspend those candidates if he’s going to be competitive,” said Smith.
Also vying for the nomination, Allred has pledged not to take corporate PAC money but doesn’t promote an anti-billionaire stance as much as Talarico.
“Colin’s campaign is powered by Texans — not special interests. With over 100,000 individual donations and an average contribution of just $34, Colin’s campaign has built a strong grassroots support because people know he’s fighting to unrig the system. Colin’s record speaks for itself — he’s taken on corporate price gouging, never taken a dime of corporate PAC money, and will tackle the cost-of-living crisis head-on,” said Dan Gottlieb, communications director for Colin Allred for Texas, in a statement.
