As The Dust Settles
Working-class politics.
This US Senate primary is going to be one for the books. And as I look around at all of the polls and analyses, the only thing they have in common is how wrong they all were.
Remember, back in October, I published, “It’s Election Season, So Suddenly Everyone Is A F*cking Expert In Texas Politics.” That was about the chatter in Gina Hinojosa’s election announcement. She won this week, cleared a crowded field of eight. Or was it seven? But the same principle applies. As soon as Texas has a hot race, here come the talking heads from California, and the polls from the BIG companies out of New York. But you know that most of the state doesn’t even pay attention to politics, and the ones that do watch the DC circus. But too few people are looking at the big picture.
By the way, did you hear we had a record turnout? 4.3 million Texans voted. 2.2 million Democrats. 2 million Republicans. We outvoted them. Important to note, in counties that are majority-Latino, Talarico won by roughly 22 points.
There has been a growing progressive populist movement in Texas for several years.
There has been a growing progressive populist movement in Texas for several years now. It really hasn’t been a secret, but nobody talks about it. I’ve talked about it. Quite a bit, actually. Every once in a while, an article will go viral, and a lot of people either refuse to believe it or are mind-blown.
This movement has been building infrastructure and sharpening its teeth. You can see it in the growing influence of the Texas Progressive Caucus, which has steadily expanded its membership and influence inside the Legislature. You can see it in the media ecosystem that didn’t exist a decade ago. Podcasts like Progress Texas and the newer Mission Texas, from TikTokers like The Mighty Quinn, and even in Facebook groups of Democratic clubs all across the state.
You could see it clearly at the 2024 Texas Democratic Convention, when delegates passed the most progressive Democratic Party platform in the country. A platform that actually reflects where Democratic voters in Texas are moving.
The party itself is changing. Early in 2025, Democrats elected one of the youngest state party chairs in the country, who immediately began implementing structural changes that some 👀 have labeled “radical,” such as decentralizing the party’s power structure and pushing more authority down to county organizations and grassroots activists.
But 2.2 million Texans voted in the Democratic primary this week.
Another thing is that Texas has more and more unapologetic progressive fighters in Congress like Greg Casar, Freddie Haynes, Al Green, and Christian Menefee. And in TX18, voters are so engaged they’re heading into yet another runoff between Menefee and Green. If any district in Texas has election fatigue right now, it’s probably that one. They’re going to need support from across the state.
The same trend is happening in the Legislature. The Texas House now includes a growing bloc of progressives who are willing to fight openly for working-class Texans. And if the primary results are any indication, more of them are on the way.
We’ll have plenty of time to talk about those races.
More election runoffs.
Runoffs were finally called for the following races:
Attorney General:
Nathan Johnson (D)
?still counting
TX24:
Kevin Burge (D)
?still counting
TX33:
Colin Allred (D)
Julie Johnson (D)
HD37:
Oziel “Ozzie” Ochoa Jr. (D)
Esmeralda “Esmi” Cantu-Castle (D)
No more congressional races are currently being counted.
The (D) Lt. Gov’s race, HD142, and HD100 have not been officially called yet.
So, anyway, the growing progressive populist movement in Texas…
Well, why don’t more people talk about it?
I don’t know. That’s a very good question. It isn’t a secret.
Check out David Griscom’s article today in Jacobin about how James Talarico won the Texas Democratic Senate primary by running an economic populist campaign focused on class politics. By focusing on “working people versus billionaires,” he performed strongly in Bernie-leaning areas, showing that a class-based message may be the most effective way for Democrats to rebuild support among working-class voters in Texas.
The Texas Tribune described Taylor Rehmet as having “working-class appeal.”
Maybe more are starting to catch on. Which, of course, would be great for advancing progressive politicians and policies in Texas, but would also bring more opposition. We might have establishment hacks coming out of the floorboard if enough of them find out.
You should see Talarico’s speech from this evening. It was actually quite good.
There’s an age-old debate on the left that people to our left, certainly people to the left of me, argue about constantly. It’s the “theory-bro” path to class solidarity. In plain English, it’s about what brings people together politically.
Shared identity, or shared economic struggle?
Because if you watched this Democratic primary closely, you saw pieces of that argument play out in real time. But voters in Texas certainly aren’t sitting around reading theory about whether class or identity should come first.
And what we saw in this primary was a candidate talking about working people getting squeezed while billionaires get richer. We saw a message that resonated in Latino counties, in Bernie-leaning counties, and among many Democrats who are tired of politics that feel disconnected from everyday life.
That doesn’t mean racism magically disappears if you talk about class. It obviously doesn’t. And James Talarico is going to have an uphill battle winning over Black voters, but I believe he can do it.
Which brings us back to the bigger picture that so many pundits missed.
A progressive populist movement is growing in Texas. It’s building organizations, building media, electing candidates, and turning people out to vote. 2.2 million Democrats just showed up for a primary.
Whether the political class wants to acknowledge it or not, something is happening in Texas.
And if this primary told us anything, it’s that the voters might already be a few steps ahead of the pundits.
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