James Talarico rallies El Paso crowd in final Texas Senate push

In his final pitch to Borderland voters ahead of the Nov. 3 election, Democratic U.S. Sen. candidate James Talarico urged voters to turnout and send a Texas Democrat to the U.S. Senate for the first time in 30 years.

Talarico appeared at the 1,100-seat Magoffin Auditorium on the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) campus Monday, Oct. 26, where an enthusiastic crowd turned up in droves more than an hour before the primetime event. Cumbia and mariachi music resonated through the auditorium as attendees wandered in with buckets of popcorn, candy and soda.

Among those in the crowd excited about Talarico's campaign was Tristan Kenny, 15, who said Talarico's Senate bid marked his first time being involved with a political campaign. Although he's not yet old enough to vote, Kennedy said the energy around Talarico's campaign has inspired him.

Inside, state Rep. Vince Perez was the first to urge voters to put Talarico over the 100,000 mark for early voting by the end of the day Tuesday, Oct. 27.

"If everybody in this room dedicated just 15 minutes between now and Election Day, that's 40,000 calls," Perez said as he urged Talarico supporters to encourage friends, family and colleagues to vote. "This wouldn't be a close race if it wasn't for the billionaires who are backing Ken Paxton, but this group demonstrates that we have the power and we're going to put James over the finish line …"

Perez was followed by El Paso County Judge Ricardo Samaniego, who touted the spirit of unity among El Pasoans, as shown by the city's response to the 2019 Walmart shooting and again during the COVID-19 pandemic a few years later.

"Everybody has got to go out there and make a difference," Samaniego said. "When a boxer goes into the ring, if he thinks he's going to lose, he's going to lose. We're not going to get into this ring thinking we're going to lose; we're going to win and we're going to win big."

More: Talarico raises record $64M in Texas Senate race against Paxton

For U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso, who has been on the frontlines the last two years as President Donald Trump's "America First" agenda has taken its toll on the United States, called on voters to back Talarico to push back against Trump's administration.

"When we have, at the White House, a corrupt dictator that doesn't care about you, we need a strong Congress that will push back and fight for you," she said. "And what we have seen under single-party rule, both in the House and the Senate, is a Republican majority that refuses to fight for hard-working Americans. Well, guess what, it doesn't have to be that way."

"The bad news is, these last two years have been horrible," Escobar added. "But the good news is, we have an election next week."

Talarico, who has been consistently leading in the polls , is set to take on Republican Ken Paxton in the Nov. 3 U.S. Senate election. His final El Paso campaign stop comes just days before Paxton makes his final El Paso stop at the Orca Event Venue.

Here are three key takeaways from Talarico's final El Paso speech before Tuesday's election.

Taking back Texas

Referencing his "Clear Eyes, Full Heart" motto, Talarico invoked the image of a high school football game, where the whole community turns out to support their team. In every game, he said, there's a moment when the team has to leave it all on the field.

"El Paso, we are in that moment," he said. "In the final days of this election, they are coming at us with everything they've got. The billionaire megadonors and their Super PACs are spending $200 billion to try to stop us."

"They are scared, they are terrified," Talarico added. "Because they see what we see, that we are going to win this election on Nov. 3."

Talarico noted that his campaign already boasts 60,000 volunteers, but he called for more to join the movement.

"On Nov. 3, we are going to do something extraordinary; we are going to do something historic," he said. "We are going to shock the nation, shock the world, when we beat the billionaires and take back Texas."

Attacking Paxton

Talarico did not hold back against his opponent in the upcoming Senate election. He alleged that corrupt politicians have driven up grocery prices, skyrocketed health care premiums, and inflated fuel prices, all to deliver tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans.

"We have an affordability crisis because we have a corruption crisis," he said. "But we can end that in this election."

"In this race, we are running against the embodiment of this corrupt system," Talarico continued. "We are running against the most corrupt politician in Texas. Ken Paxton is everything that's wrong with our politics. He doesn't serve us; he serves himself."

More: Talarico targets how much Paxton's scandals cost Texans in US Senate race

Talarico noted that Paxton has amassed 15 homes and a net worth of $27 million since taking office, even as Texans face stagnant wages and struggle to afford a single home. He also noted that Paxton's own party impeached him over allegations of abuse of office, bribery, and abuse of public trust.

"This is the rot at the core of our broken politics," Talarico said. "It's why so many Texans can't get ahead no matter how hard they work, no matter how much they save and stretch and sacrifice. It's why we can't afford the basic in this economy — gas, groceries, utilities, health care. It's because the system has been rigged by billionaires and crooked politicians like Ken Paxton."

"Ken has spent his entire career enriching himself and his megadonors," he went on. "I've spent my career working with both parties to cut your property taxes, to lower your housing costs, to cap insulin copays, to lower the cost of health care. I have a legislative record; Ken Paxton has a criminal record."

'Deep in the heart' of Texas

While Talarico made a point to highlight the differences between himself and Paxton, the night's underlying theme was a call to action for all Texans.

"The problem with Ken Paxton is that he doesn't understand Texas," he said. "I believe anyone can be a Texans, doesn't matter if you're eighth generation, like me, or if you just got here yesterday. What makes someone a Texan is not in the boots, or in the truck; it's deep in the heart."

Talarico noted that the word Texas comes from the Caddo word "taysha," which means "friends."

"We're this big mashup of all these different people, all these different cultures, all these different friends," he said.

"We're in a state that put a man on the moon," Talarico continued. "We're in the state that pioneered ranching, and energy, and computers. We're the state that gave this country Barbara Jordan and Ann Richards, (Lyndon B. Johnson) and the Great Society. We're the state that put breakfast in a taco."

Protecting, preserving and enriching that Texas, he said, is the real meaning behind his race against Paxton.

"This election shouldn't be about the Democratic Party or the Republican Party," he said. "It's bigger than that. This election should be about chasing a vision of what this state can be: Texas public schools that are the envy of the nation; a Texas economy that is second to none; and Texas families that are stronger and healthier than they've ever been before."

"This won't happen overnight," Talarico said, "but a giant state deserves giant dreams."

Adam Powell covers government and politics for the El Paso Times and can be reached via email at apowell@elpasotimes.com.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: James Talarico rallies El Paso crowd in final Texas Senate push