James Talarico
October 4, 2026 · Newsletter
Our plan to win:
Most campaigns don’t share their strategy — but you deserve to know where we’re at in the race right now. I want to do this differently. I’m writing this to share our path to win this race and to ask you to play a role.
If you’re already fired up to get involved, sign up to blockwalk with us before early voting starts. Chip in whatever you can to help us compete against the nearly $200 million in outside spending. And make sure you’re registered to vote by tomorrow, Monday, October 5.
So here’s how we are going to take back Texas:
I got my start in politics knocking on doors. The summer after my junior year of high school, I signed up for a volunteer program run by our state representative, Mark Strama. I spent that summer walking neighborhoods and talking to voters, and it was the first time I ever pictured a future in public service.
When I ran for Texas House in 2018, it was in a district Donald Trump had won two years earlier, and nobody thought we could win it. We did it the way I learned that summer after my junior year: one door, one conversation at a time.
We have 15 days until early voting starts and 30 days until Election Day. And tomorrow, Monday, October 5, is the last day to register to vote in Texas.
That’s not much time, and it means we’re going to ask a lot of you in the next few weeks. I don’t think it’s fair to ask you to give up your evenings and weekends without showing you exactly what that time is for.
I want to address the argument against us, because you’ve probably heard it at this point.
No Democrat has won a statewide race in Texas in 30 years. The last Democrat to win this Senate seat was LBJ. In 2024, Donald Trump carried Texas by about 14 points.
So the skeptics’ case is simple: Texas is red, and it stays red.
I don’t buy it. Here’s why this year is different.
First, look at who we’re running against.
Ken Paxton was impeached by his own party in the Texas House. His own staff reported him to the FBI. He has dodged debates for over a decade, and he’s refusing to debate me. He would rather let dark money super PACs do his talking for him.
A lot of Republicans in this state know exactly who Ken Paxton is. Some of them are going to vote for me. Others may stay home if we don’t put in the work to reach them and explain that the movement we’re building is about defeating the corrupt system that Paxton represents.
Second, look at who’s paying for him.
The biggest divide in this country isn’t left versus right. It’s top versus bottom. This race is the clearest example.
Billionaires like Tim Dunn and Elon Musk, Republican super PACs, and Donald Trump’s political operation have now spent nearly $200 million to bail out Ken Paxton. They’re not spending that money because this race is safe. They’re spending it because they’re scared.
And they’re not just spending money. They’re rewriting the rules. They redrew the congressional map in the middle of the decade, which is like changing the rules after halftime because you’re worried the other team is going to win. Our state’s Department of Public Safety (DPS) has failed to process voter registration applications. Counties have cut polling places.
People don’t work this hard to stop you from voting unless your vote can beat them.
Third, look at who’s showing up.
In March, Democrats outvoted Republicans in the Texas primary for the first time in a midterm in more than 20 years. This year, Democrats are running a candidate in every federal and state race in Texas for the first time in modern history. And every week, more of you join this campaign. After I sat down with Jimmy Kimmel, about 1,200 people signed up to volunteer in a single day.
Here’s where that leaves us: this race is close. Close enough that the outcome depends on what we do in the next few weeks.
Look at the numbers. In the last midterm, fewer than half of registered Texas voters cast a ballot. The governor won with the support of roughly one in four registered voters.
People in Texas haven’t made up their minds. They’ve been told their voice doesn’t count, and a lot of them believed it.
The people at the top never sit on the sidelines in an election year. They use super PACs to buy races for politicians who return their calls and fall in line. The people at the bottom, working two jobs and raising kids and trying to cover rent, have been told over and over that nothing they do will change anything.
So here’s the truth about this race – we need to reach millions of Texans who are with us and help them get past whatever stands between them and the ballot box. If we knock on their doors and have real conversations with our neighbors, we will turn out new voters in November – and win.
I’ll keep making my case to every Texan who will listen, anytime, anywhere. But as a campaign, we have to put our time where it matters most.
Telling someone to vote doesn’t do much. We need to give them a reason.
As a teacher on the westside of San Antonio, I had 45 students in one classroom. There weren’t enough desks for all of my students, so some of my kids sat on the air conditioning unit. We’re the wealthiest country in human history, and kids were sitting on the AC unit. That’s my reason. It’s in large part why I ran for office.
Everyone has a reason like that. Maybe it’s what you’re paying for groceries or for your prescriptions. Maybe it’s your kid’s school or your parents’ Social Security. Leading with our story is one of the most impactful and honest things we can do.
The conversations that move turnout most happen in the final weeks, right before and during early voting. Early voting starts October 19. That means the next few weeks are most important. Everything we’ve built this year, every rally, every signup, every dollar, comes down to what we do between now and November 3.
Today, our focus is making sure supporters are registered at their current address before the voter registration deadline. After that, it’s about helping every one of them make a plan to vote early.
Here’s what it takes to win.
Between now and Election Day, our ground operation needs to talk to millions of voters. In order for us to reach that goal, we’re asking our supporters to do one or more of the following.
Blockwalking. This is where you go door to door in a neighborhood with other volunteers and talk to people about the election. It’s okay if you’ve never blockwalked before – we’ll train you, you’ll be in good company, and you’ll build community as you do it! More on that in a second.
Hosting. Whether you’ve done any of this before, you can help lead and convene others. Hosts pick a time and place, bring a few neighbors together, and head out to blockwalk as a group. We’ll provide training and support.
Showing up where people already are. Not everybody answers the door. So we also set up at places like farmers’ markets, football games, and community festivals, and talk to folks there.
Talking to your own people. Your family and friends trust you. Sometimes the most important conversation is the one with your sister, your neighbor, or the person you work with.
Sharing our message online. When you post about why you’re voting and our campaign’s message, it travels to voters we cannot otherwise reach.
Every one of these matters. But you’ll hear us ask to attend a block walk most often. So, here’s a little more on the why.
Between now and Election Day, we’re going to run one of the biggest door-knocking efforts this state has ever seen.
Blockwalking is easier than you might think. They usually take two hours. You’ll head out with a partner to the doors of voters who are likely on our side, and we’ll give you everything you need: the addresses, what to say, and more. Above all else, they’re fun! If you’ve never done it before, that’s fine. You’ll be paired with someone who has.
But blockwalks don’t happen on their own. Someone has to organize each one. That’s why we need thousands of volunteers to step up as hosts, each leading at least one blockwalk with a group of neighbors before Election Day.
I’ll be honest with you. Right now, we’re behind where we need to be. We don’t have enough volunteers signed up to blockwalk, and we don’t have enough hosts to lead them. That’s the real reason I’m writing to you today. We can close that gap, but only if more of us step up this week.
That’s a big ask. It’s also completely doable if we do it together. Please sign up here.
You’ll also hear us talk about Texas Together. It’s the Texas Democratic Party’s coordinated campaign, one shared organizing operation for every Democrat on the ballot, from me and Gina all the way down to county commissioners.
Instead of every campaign hiring its own organizers and opening its own offices, we’re building one team. We have organizers across the state, from El Paso to the Rio Grande Valley, from Houston to Dallas and Fort Worth to the Panhandle, from San Antonio to Austin. Everywhere else, we’re counting on volunteers who step up to lead in their own towns.
So when you sign up to blockwalk with Texas Together, you’re volunteering to support this campaign and many others across the state. Every door you knock helps the whole ticket.
My grandfather was a Baptist preacher in South Texas. He taught me that we follow a barefoot rabbi who gave two commandments: love God and love your neighbor. I’ve always believed democracy is more than a constitution. It’s a covenant, a relationship between neighbors.
As we head into the final weeks of this campaign, I’m asking you to help safeguard that covenant. My ask of you is to open the text messages and emails from our campaign. I know it can be a lot, but it’s an important way we can communicate our priorities to you in the final weeks.
I’m also asking you to step up today, as you read this message.
Host a blockwalk. This is the most important thing you can do. If you can commit to hosting at least one walk a week through Election Day, we need you. We’ll train you and support you the whole way.
Sign up for a block walk. Especially during our weekend of action on October 17 and 18.
And no matter what: vote. Check your registration before the deadline tomorrow, October 5. Make a plan to vote early and in person. Then bring someone with you to vote.
They have nearly $200 million. We have each other.
It’s going to take all of us. Every door, every conversation, every neighbor.
Let’s go win this.
James
P.S. This kind of grassroots operation is expensive to run. So if you’re not in Texas or if you’re a Texan who wants to support us with more than your time, you can use this link to chip in any amount, and we’ll make sure it gets put to work to organize and turn out the voters we need to win.