The Editorial Board: Trump attacks the Constitution and New York Republicans are silent

James Talarico reports raising nearly $7 million, continuing cash influx to U.S. Senate bid

by Alejandro Serrano, The Texas Tribune
January 2, 2026

State Rep. James Talarico raised nearly $7 million for his U.S. Senate run during the latest fundraising quarter, increasing his total haul to $13 million since launching his bid, his campaign said Friday.

Talarico established himself as a prolific fundraiser after raising $6.2 million in the first three weeks of his campaign, which far outpaced other recent Democrats who sought statewide office. Democrats have not won statewide office in Texas since 1994.

The figure released Friday — $6.8 million worth of contributions — suggests the money momentum continues for Talarico, a former public school teacher who has represented a district that includes North Austin and parts of Pflugerville and Round Rock in the Texas House since 2018. Most of Talarico’s donations — 98% — were for $100 or less and none came from corporate PACs, according to the campaign.

It is not clear how much of the money Talarico has already spent. All candidates for federal office must file a finance update with the election commission by the end of the month.

“With the help of more than 215,000 neighbors, we are building a campaign to win the primary, win the general, and deliver for working people across Texas,” Talarico said in a statement, referring to the number of individual contributors.

A spokesperson for his primary opponent, U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas, did not immediately return a request for comment. Crockett, who filed to run for Senate later than Talarico, is also a prolific fundraiser.

A poll released last month had Crockett leading Talarico by 8 percentage points.

Talarico’s early cash influx gave him an upper hand over former U.S. Rep. Collin Allred, who took two months to raise as much money during his unsuccessful challenge to U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz last cycle. Allred left the Senate race in December and pivoted to run for the Dallas-based 33rd Congressional District.

On the Republican side, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn is facing the biggest challenge of his career in a three-way contest to be the GOP nominee as Attorney General Ken Paxton and U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Houston, try to unseat the incumbent. As of October, Cornyn carried a big financial advantage over Paxton and Hunt.

This article first appeared on The Texas Tribune.

A senior Democratic senator lambasted President Donald Trump's administration on Tuesday after a judge handed the administration its latest loss in a high-profile immigration case.

On Tuesday, Judge Waverly Crenshaw Jr. of the Middle District of Tennessee handed down a ruling that found Trump prosecutors were conspiring with people in Washington, D.C. who "may or may not have acted with improper motivation," when bringing charges against Kilmar Abrego-Garcia, CNN's Jim Scuitto reported on "The Arena." Abrego-Garcia is a Salvadoran national who had lived in Maryland for several years with temporary protected status before the Trump administration illegally deported him in March.

Initially, the Trump administration blamed his deportation on an "administrative error" before returning Abrego-Garcia to the U.S. After he arrived, prosecutors then charged him with human trafficking, and at least one top Department of Justice official called the prosecution of Abrego-Garcia a "top priority," according to the ruling.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) bashed the Trump administration's treatment of Abrego-Garcia during an interview on CNN's "The Arena" on Tuesday, calling it a "smoking gun" for the vindictive prosecution charges.

"The Justice Department decided to bring these charges against him because he asserted his due process rights when they illegally shipped him off to CECOT in El Salvador," Van Hollen said. "This looks like another example of the Trump administration sometimes manipulating the facts to bring a vindictive case against Abrego-Garcia."