U.S. Senate Democratic nominee James Talarico rallied a packed UTEP auditorium Monday night, describing his campaign against Republican Ken Paxton as a “David versus Goliath” fight against wealthy donors and entrenched political power.
“David wasn't as big or as strong as Goliath. He didn't have as many weapons, but he had hope,” Talarico said to the crowd of about 1,200. “He had faith, and he had a slingshot. El Paso, you are my slingshot.”
Talarico’s speech focused on the disparity between his campaign fundraising and Paxton’s.
“The billionaire mega donors and their super PACs are spending $200 million to try to stop us. That is the most of any Senate race in American history, and more is on the way,” he said. “They are scared. They are terrified. They see what we see, that we're about to win this election.”
Monday’s speech was the latest stop on Talarico’s “clear eyes, full hearts” tour, a phrase he pulled from a locker room pep-talk scene in the Texas football film “Friday Night Lights.” Talarico said he found inspiration in that scene, describing it as an embattled coach rallying his team of underdogs.
“He says, ‘They're gonna come at you with everything they've got. I expect you boys to execute. I expect you boys to play football,’” Talarico said. “And then he ends with six immortal words, ‘clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose.’”
Talarico also gave a quick rundown of his campaign effort, telling the audience that 60,000 volunteers across the state were signed up to spread his message, and said his operation has “shattered every grassroots fundraising record in American history, and we've done it without taking a dime” from big-monied factions and super PACs.
He said his tour so far has given him a clear picture of the frustration across the state.
“Everywhere I go, I hear from Texans who are drowning,” he said, and described Texans as a population angry that their votes were betrayed.
“In the last election, Texans voted to lower costs. Texans voted to lower grocery prices, but corrupt tariffs are raising prices at the checkout line,” he said. “Texans voted to end the wars, but now we have a new corrupt war in the Middle East that's driving up gas and diesel prices.”
“Texans voted to lower healthcare costs, but corrupt political deals have gutted our healthcare and sent premiums skyrocketing, all to give tax cuts to billionaires,” Talarico said.
He criticized Paxton as “the embodiment of this corrupt system” and described him as “the most corrupt politician in Texas” who represents “the rot at the core of our broken politics.”
“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,” he said. “It's why we can't afford the basics in this economy. It's because the system has been rigged by billionaires and crooked politicians like Ken Paxton.”
Paxton, the Texas attorney general, defeated John Cornyn for the U.S. Senate GOP nomination in May.
In a line that brought many to their feet with cheers, Talarico said, “We have an affordability crisis because we have a corruption crisis.”
In his speech, Talarico described himself in opposing terms in regard to Paxton.
“I've spent my career working with both parties to cut your property taxes, to lower your housing costs, to cap insulin co-pays, to lower the cost of healthcare. Ken has spent his entire career enriching himself and his mega-donors,” said Talarico, who then mentioned Elon Musk, the trillionaire majority shareholder of Tesla and SpaceX, which brought a chorus of boos from the crowd.
“Ken Paxton has the ultimate mega donor. Elon Musk is trying to buy this Senate seat in Texas,” Talarico said. “The richest man in the world is almost single-handedly bankrolling this effort to install Ken Paxton in the U.S. Senate and stop this movement that we're building in Texas.”
Talarico often used football analogies in his address, and said this point of his campaign is “the last play, the last drive, when you have to leave it all on the field. El Paso, we are in that moment. In the final days of this election, they are coming at us with everything they've got.”
“We are going to shock the nation, shock the world, when we beat the billionaires and take back Texas,” he said.
Early voting ends Oct. 30 and the Midterm Election is Nov. 3.