On a recent stop in North Texas, James Talarico stood on a shallow stage in the center of the crowded auditorium at Disciple Central Community Church in DeSoto, a city with a Black population of around 68%.
It was his second stop in his race for U.S. Senate focused on reaching the state's Black voters — a group that has expressed lingering hesitation toward the 37-year-old state representative from Austin.
For nearly an hour and a half, he answered questions from voters in an effort to connect with a demographic that will play a key role in November's midterm election.
Left unmentioned: his opponent, state Attorney General Ken Paxton.
"I don't want any Texan to vote for me because they don't want Ken Paxton as their next U.S. senator," Talarico told the press after the event. "I was here making my case. I'm not here talking about Ken Paxton."
Less than a day later, just 35 miles away, Paxton took a different approach.
At the Texas Sheriffs Association annual conference in Fort Worth, the Republican was flanked by 22 sheriffs in front of a podium plastered with a mock-up mugshot of his Democratic opponent, who he said has "one of the most anti-law enforcement records in the history of Texas."
"He's trying to distance himself from positions he's previously embraced," he said. "He's going to say he supports law enforcement. But what he won't tell you is the rest of the story."
As November's midterm election draws closer, the race to be Texas' next U.S. senator is heating up — and though Talarico and Paxton vie for same seat, their campaigns fight different battles.
While Talarico courts Black voters, a group that largely supported U.S. Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett in the primaries, Paxton looks to the moderate conservatives who preferred sitting U.S. Sen. John Cornyn in May's runoff election. While Talarico claims he’s moving away from negative campaigning, Paxton has embraced it. And while Talarico travels the state making stop after stop, Paxton's appearances have been rare and brief.
North Texas is a battleground for both candidates ahead of the election, home to the fastest-growing metropolitan area in the state and two of its most populous counties — as well as the home of longtime Collin County resident Paxton himself — and the two nominees for U.S. Senate are taking opposite approaches to winning over its voters.
At his DeSoto town hall on July 20, Talarico faced questions from attendees on topics like school vouchers and campaign finance regulations, as well as Black unemployment and reparations.
When asked how he would ensure Black voters are not taken advantage of in the Democratic party, Talarico expressed the need to build a diverse campaign team and show up in Black communities across the state.
At his sometimes-tense Houston town hall stop the day prior, he pledged to spend $25 million on Black voter outreach. In DeSoto, he asked voters to tell him how to use it.
"It is on you to tell us so that we can change," Talarico told Dallas County residents. "I will commit to doing better if you commit to helping us do better. This is a partnership. And we don't have time to be defensive as a campaign. We've got a race to win."
Before the event, Jourdain Nicot, a 32-year-old South Dallas resident, said she thought some Black voters had given up on the election after Crockett lost the primary because they didn’t believe a white candidate could help Black or otherwise underserved communities in Texas.
Talarico needs to embody Crockett's "spirit of boldness and authenticity" in standing up for Black voters to garner their support in November, she said.
"It's really hard for us to gather with other communities when there's no unity," Nicot said. "A lot of the things that we're struggling with could have been resolved, I mean, decades ago, but it's not happening. So I think for him, we need to see authentic leadership. We need to see your mouth where the citizens are crying out for help."
Erik Wilson, a Dallas resident who also attended the event, said he was encouraged by Talarico's $25 million pledge because he didn't see Texas as a state that typically directs resources toward Black voters and Black communities.
"I think he took a good hard pause to try to regroup," he said. "I've heard some ideas of him really admitting that the party is taking (Black voters) for granted and that he has some work to do, and I appreciate that."
Talarico's efforts to appeal to Black voters also have implications for the success of Democrats as a whole come November, said Brandon Rottinghaus, a political science professor at the University of Houston.
"This isn't just about the Talarico campaign," Rottinghaus said. "This is about Democrats up and down the ballot, because they will succeed or fail largely depending on how well he does. His investment in the turnout among Black voters is critical to his success and to Democrat's success."
Meanwhile, Paxton's focus on law enforcement at his July 22 appearance reflects his need to appeal to the Republicans who have been turned away by his history of legal and ethical controversies, Rottinghaus said.
"Paxton's validators have been people who have traditionally been in the Republican coalition: sheriffs, law enforcement organizations, conservative elected officials, Republican activists, and often clergy," Rottinghaus said. "That's a sweet spot for Republicans, and Paxton's trying to make sure that he can get back in their good graces."
The attorney general told reporters that, if elected, he would fight to fully fund President Trump's security agenda — including increasing resources for law enforcement agencies, tightening border restrictions, cracking down on drug cartels, supporting mandatory detention and deportation for what he called "dangerous criminal illegal immigrants," and protecting qualified immunity for officers.
His opponent, he argued, will do the opposite. Paxton pointed to Talarico's "anti-law enforcement track record," accusing him of supporting efforts to defund police and voting for legislation to end qualified immunity for law enforcement.
"The truth is simple, these policies would make our communities less safe," Paxton said. "They would make law enforcement's job more difficult. And they would make our country less safe. Texas deserves better."
Talarico's campaign disputed Paxton's claims, saying the Democrat has supported sending billions to law enforcement agencies. The campaign also hit back at the attorney general in a statement that departed from Talarico's recent strategy of avoiding mentioning his opponent.
In particular, the campaign pointed to a pair of stories focusing on Paxton's voting history and real estate assets last month. An investigation by ProPublica and the Texas Tribune found the attorney general may have used an address at which he did not live to vote in six elections over the past two years.
He's also faced questions about reporting from the New York Times on the recent purchase of three condominiums in Utah, bringing Paxton's real estate portfolio to 15 properties worth around $9 million.
When asked about those issues by reporters at the sheriffs press conference, Paxton interrupted, saying he would only answer questions related to law enforcement. His staff then abruptly ended the question-and-answer session, ushering the senate candidate away after answering one question.
“Ken Paxton just refused to answer basic questions about reports he committed voter fraud and expanded his real estate portfolio to 15 properties on a government salary — because he has no answers for his corruption," said Talarico campaign spokesperson J.T. Ennis.
For Talarico, the issue of law enforcement is a "tough needle to thread" as he aims to appeal to Black voters without turning away moderate conservatives in his bid to become the first Democrat to win statewide office in Texas in more than three decades, said Matthew Wilson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University.
For example, Talarico — who also spoke to attendees at the sheriffs conference in Fort Worth — said he was committed to prioritizing support for law enforcement with initiatives like recruiting quality personnel and improving salaries and benefits.
At his DeSoto event a day earlier, meanwhile, he told an Oak Cliff resident concerned about over-policing in Black and Hispanic neighborhoods that the country has a "deeply broken" justice system and approach to policing.
"He's trying to send that message to more moderate Texas voters that he does care about law and order while at the same time signaling concerns about racial inequities and law enforcement to African Americans," Wilson said. "We'll see if he's able to pull off doing both of those things."
But public safety is far from the only issue at play in this race. During Talarico's time in North Texas last month, the candidate also tried to promote a larger vision of what he'd prioritize in office — issues like affordable childcare, which he discussed during a tour of a Fort Worth preschool.
That attempt to balance the interests of a broad base of voters is reflected in Talarico's efforts to reach voters in communities all over the state, Wilson said.
"He's not as well known as Ken Paxton," Wilson said. "Attitudes towards him are much more malleable, and I think he realizes that, and he wants to define himself by personal engagement with a lot voters in a lot constituencies rather than sitting back and allowing the Paxton campaign and Republicans to define him."
Paxton, on the other hand, has been in the public eye for a longer period of time. That may mean more voter recognition, but it also means voters are familiar with his history of controversies — including a 2023 impeachment.
That’s prompted a campaign strategy focused on behind-the-scenes politics, reinforcing his existing relationship with Republican voters and marketing his opponent as an ideological extremist, Wilson said.
"He would rather the race be a referendum on the acceptability of James Talarico as a candidate rather than a referendum on him," Wilson said.
But with three months until election day, the two candidate's campaigns still have room to grow. On July 31, Paxton announced four campaign stops across the state this week for his "Protecting the Texas Promise Tour," starting with a stop in Allen Tuesday night.
This schedule suggests an expansion of Paxton's campaign from one focused largely on energizing Republicans to one where he must broaden his appeal — both in the issues he focuses on and the voters he tries to reach, Rottinghaus said.
He said this is likely a reaction to recent polls from Texas Public Opinion Research and Fox News that both showed Talarico leading Paxton. Earlier polls by The New York Times/Sienna and the Texas Politics Project had shown the two candidates in a dead heat.
For Republicans, the polls are a warning sign that that Paxton is lagging in support in areas where the party has traditional done well, like in suburban areas and with independent and Latino voters, Rottinghaus said.
"The polling suggests that those are not going in the direction that Republicans like in this cycle," Rottinghaus said. "That means that there's an opportunity for Democrats to pick up those voters. Ken Paxton is going to hit the road and try to make sure that doesn't happen."
Paxton's new campaign agenda is also directed at the race's key issue of affordability, which is crucial to garnering the support of persuadable voters, he said.
"The attorney general wants to start this campaign fresh," Rottinghaus said. "There's been a lot of mud thrown and there certainly will be a lot more, but he wants to refocus his efforts on the issues that he cares about and the messages that he can carry to persuadable voters."
Throughout the week, Paxton will also make stops in Houston, McAllen and San Antonio, areas that Rottinghaus said directly reflect the kind of constituents he needs to win over.
As they enter the home stretch in their campaigns, both candidates face a challenging road ahead, Rottinghaus said.
"Paxton is attempting to consolidate his base while Talarico is trying to expand the electorate," he said. "That's really hard to do. Both of them have a tough challenge."
Got a tip? Email Emily DeMotte at edemotte@kera.org.
KERA News is made possible through the generosity of our members. If you find this reporting valuable, consider making a tax-deductible gift today. Thank you.
