Talarico says the divide is ‘top vs. bottom’ — then heads to one of America’s richest donor enclaves
Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico, who has gained a reputation for his anti-corporate rhetoric and criticism of technology, reportedly spent mid-April traveling around the San Francisco Bay Area soliciting donations from wealthy tech executives.
Talarico participated in at least four California Fundraisers held in April by major Democratic fundraisers with ties to the tech industry, according to invitations obtained by Politico and a source interviewed by the publication.
Senate Democrats hopeful criticize tech industry campaign websiteaccuses it of profiting from “predatory algorithms” that empower extremism and promises to protect workers from “intrusive AI surveillance.”
Fundraisers took place in Palo Alto, San Francisco’s Mission District, Oakland and Marin County, according to Politico. Participants included venture capitalists, wealthy Democratic donors and political staffers, including at least one person who advises artificial intelligence start-ups.
Talarico Announces Texas Roots as Out-of-State Cash Mandate Senate Campaign
State Rep. James Talarico, D-Texas and U.S. Senate candidate, participates in a discussion at the Texas AFL-CIO COPE Convention on January 24, 2026 in Georgetown, Texas.
(Getty Images)
Talarico’s proximity to wealth creates tension over how he presents himself in the market campaign trail.
“The biggest divide in this country is not between left and right. It’s between the top and the bottom,” he said, adding that “people at the top are working hard to anger and divide us because our unity is a threat to their wealth and power,” called lawmakers who receive donations from “megadonors” “puppet politicians,” charged that “billionaires are waging war on the rest of us,” and expressed a strong desire to hold corporations accountable.
He also vowed not to accept corporate PAC financing; money received from company executives, People who often fund and control corporate PACs.
Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico speaks during a rally on May 29, 2026 in San Antonio, Texas.
While Talarico ranks second among Senate candidates this cycle, raising over $40 million, the vast majority of that came from small-dollar donors. Additionally, Texas Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton, the state’s attorney general, has a history of accepting big-dollar donations, but has not taken a stance against the wealthy like Talarico.
“The only way to make big money out of our politics is to vote for politicians like Ken Paxton, who want corporations and billionaires to decide our elections, not Texans,” Talarico campaign spokesman JT Ennis told Fox News Digital.
“James is the only candidate who has laid out a comprehensive agenda to ban super PACs, ban corporate PACs, ban congressional stock trading, and tax billionaires so we can fix this broken, corrupt political system. If anyone supports taxing billionaires more and limiting the influence of big money on our politics, we’ll be happy to help defeat politicians like Ken Paxton, who has raised millions of dollars from special interests and enriched wealthy donors while working to fight for Texans.”
Paxton campaign spokeswoman Madison Cercy told Politico that the fundraisers were “another chapter in the saga of James Talarico.” lies and hypocrisy While running a flip-flopping campaign in the state of Texas.”
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Democratic Texas State Representative James Talarico speaks during a campaign launch rally on September 9, 2025 in Round Rock, Texas.
Fox News Digital previously reported that Talarico was much more addicted out-of-state donors More from Paxton challenging Republicans in swing states, a common trend among Democrats.
Democrats called Turn Texas blue for decadesill-fated attempts to dethrone Republican governors and senatorial incumbents, often spending large sums of money. Some in the party think 2026 could be different from their past failures at Lone Star.
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Talarico’s open Christian faithFirst, it is seen as something that could give it cross-party appeal. That, combined with strong fundraising numbers, a penchant for creating viral clips and an unpopular Republican in the White House, could lead Talarico to an upset victory.
Either way, the Senate race in Texas is shaping up to be an expensive one. A Democratic fundraiser predicted the contest could cost all parties half a billion dollars.
Original article source: Talarico says divide is ‘up and down,’ then heads to one of America’s richest donor districts
