State lawmaker beats Jasmine Crockett in fiercely contested election marked by record turnout and confusion at polls

James Talarico won the Democratic nomination for a US Senate seat in Texas on Tuesday, capping a remarkable rise from state lawmaker and seminary student to the party’s standard-bearer in one of the key races of the 2026 midterm cycle.

With his blend of faith-based populism, bipartisan appeal and generational energy, Talarico defeated Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, a firebrand beloved by the party’s base but who struggled to dispel concerns that she could defeat a Republican in a state that has not elected a Democrat statewide in more than 30 years.

A jubilant Talarico told supporters in Austin before the race was called: “We are not just trying to win an election. We are trying to fundamentally change our politics. And it’s working.”

  • SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.caEnglish
    3·
    22 hours ago

    Never trust a Christian fundamentalist. They can get away with anything by their rules if they just repent, whatever the fuck that means.

    • NOT_RICK@lemmy.worldEnglish
      14·
      22 hours ago

      What makes you think the guy is a Christian fundamentalist? From what I’ve seen, he’s been very outspoken about the criticality of the separation of church and state.

      • ChunkMcHorkle@lemmy.worldEnglish
        3·
        14 hours ago

        Just so you know, Christian fundamentalism is not at all defined by an individual believer’s stance in regard to the Free Exercise Clause. Someone being a “Christian fundamentalist” simply means they believe in Biblical literalism. It may or may not coincide with other beliefs, political or religious. And even then the purely religious definition tends to shift over time.

        It’s really just the faux-fundamentalists who don’t actually believe in their book at all, and who have hijacked religious belief to shore up failing hold on political power, that don’t like separation of church and state.

        I’m not a fan of Talarico, I think he’s an unknown quantity at this point, but I offer this clarification in defense of the many non-political and apolitical fundies I have known in my time. Please do not confuse them with the hyper-politicized neofascist version of “Christianity” now popular in right-wing power grabs.

        As for Talarico, he has personally been a critic of “Christian nationalism” and doesn’t identify as anything even close to Christian fundamentalism but rather as a Presbyterian. It’s about as vanilla as you can get these days and leans liberal: they’re the kind of Christians uber-conservative Christians love to hate.