Texas Dems To DC: We’re Not You

Texas Democrats just drew a line in the sand.

Going into campaign season, we’re going to see a lot of campaign rallies across the state from all sorts of political hopefuls. Some will be big, some will be little, some won’t matter much in the grand scheme of things, and some, like the one held yesterday in San Antonio, will have a much larger underlying tone that could shape the entire campaign season and maybe the entire future of Texas. Let’s discuss.

Yesterday in San Antonio, Beto held a rally featuring James Talarico, Juaquin Castro, and Ron Nirenberg. This matters because, remember, just yesterday we were discussing their secret meeting from last month? What matters more is what they discussed at this rally, who made surprise appearances, and who was noticeably absent.

(The sound is low, but you can hear it perfectly if you turn it up loud enough.) It’s definitely worth watching, but there are some particular moments I want to talk about.

For some reason, I thought that yesterday’s San Antonio rally was going to be the four men who were in that secret meeting we discussed yesterday. I thought I had read that or seen it in a flyer, but after double-checking last night, I realized I had put that in my head, perhaps just an assumption that somehow these four were working together to figure out the top of the ticket. However, after watching each take turns speaking, I realized Colin Allred was not in attendance.

So, I quickly texted a friend, “Allred isn’t at the rally?”

“Nope. Just Beto, Talarico, and Castro. Us vs. DNC.”

And then it hit me (and this will tie in to some of the things they discuss), Allred is part of the establishment. The other three are not. That’s why Allred’s positions don’t align with Texas Democrats. That’s why he’s been unpopular with the Texas Democratic base, because he’s the establishment guy.

And if we’re at an injunction, where voters are bucking the establishment (hello, Zohran Mamdani), it makes sense for serious Democratic political hopefuls in Texas to distance themselves from him.

First on the mic was Ron Nirenberg, the former mayor of San Antonio.

I think this matters. Obviously, San Antonio is Nirenberg’s city, so it makes a lot of sense for him to be there, but it also raises questions. Why now? Why this rally? And why share a stage with Beto, Castro, and Talarico?

There’s been a quiet buzz about Nirenberg eyeing statewide office, maybe something bigger down the line. He’s term-limited out as mayor, popular in his city, and has built a brand as a pragmatic Democrat.

So, for him to show up here, at this rally, with these people, it doesn’t read as casual support. It reads as an intention. It reads as ambition.

James Talarico gave one hell of a speech.

I’ve seen Talarico speak live before, but the energy and the passion he gave yesterday were incredible. He began by discussing his experience as a teacher in San Antonio, at a school where students struggled with poverty and systemic racism, and how his students were more than survivors; they were dreamers and fighters. Then he moved on to discuss his origins as the son of a single mother.

When Talarico was only five years old, he and his mom lived down the road from the Texas Capitol, where Ann Richards was fighting for the people. His mom told him that they were Democrats because Democrats fight for the people.

Then Talarico said, “Let me be honest, the National Democratic Party hasn’t shown that fight in a while.”

And the crowd cheered.

He went on, “They’re too comfortable on the coats, and they’re too comfortable with the status quo. There’s something about living in a red state that makes you scrappy.”

And the crowd cheered.

“Because Texas Democrats know how to fight. Whether it was LBJ pushing the Great Society through Congress, or Barbara Jordan in teaching Richard Nixon, or Joaquin Castro impeaching Donald Trump, or Beto O’Rourke interrupting Greg Abbott’s press conference in Uvalde, we fight. We fight!”

The crowd went wild. Standing ovation.

This was a line in the sand.

This is what Texas Democrats want. Not complacency with the assholes in Washington. Not, “let’s all get along.” By calling out the National Democratic Party by name, Talarico wasn’t just tossing red meat to the base. He was staking a claim. He framed Texas Democrats as the fighters, the scrappy underdogs with absolute conviction, while painting the national party as complacent, coasting on legacy and donor-class comfort.

It was a strategy. It flipped the script. Instead of Texas Democrats being seen as the under-resourced, long-suffering cousins of the national party, Talarico positioned them as the soul of the party itself. Battle-tested, morally grounded, and unafraid to challenge power, even within their own tent.

It’s a smart move. The base is restless. The establishment isn’t trusted. And Talarico, by anchoring himself in both working-class experience and historic Democratic courage, from LBJ to Barbara Jordan to Beto, is threading a narrative that connects populist fire to Democratic legacy.

Next on the mic was Joaquin Castro.

Castro started his speech by thanking Talarico for his work in the Texas House and praising Beto for the work he’s done to register and mobilize voters in Texas over the last several years.

Talarico had just finished lifting up Beto and Castro in his own remarks. Then Castro came up and returned the favor, lifting up both Beto and Talarico. This wasn’t a trio of politicians subtly elbowing each other offstage, trying to outshine one another. It wasn’t the usual passive-aggressive jostling we’ve come to expect when multiple ambitious Democrats share a microphone. No one looked like they were angling for dominance.

They looked like a team.

There were no digs. No posturing. No awkward dodges about who’s running for what. That kind of mutual praise doesn’t happen if these three are headed for a bloody primary. It occurs when a plan is already in motion, when the roles are already being sorted out behind closed doors.

A unified slate? A coordinated ticket? Different lanes, shared message?

Intriguing, nonetheless.

Castro went on to talk about his origin story and his grandmother’s experiences as an immigrant in Texas. And how his mother got involved in politics and the civil rights movement. Then, he turned his focus to Medicaid and why he would never cut that or Social Security, and he told the tale of his own journey with cancer.

The injection he has to take for his cancer treatment every 28 days was $24,000.

Castro said, “When you talk about not expanding Medicaid in Texas, when you talk about cutting Medicaid in Washington, when you talk about cutting subsidies for the Affordable Care Act, what you’re talking about is not giving people a chance to live.”

Spot-on. Joaquin Castro has consistently expressed strong support for universal healthcare coverage. And we love him for it.

Then Beto took the stage.

Beto started his speech by praising Nirenberg, Talarico, and Castro. And honestly? It was kind of incredible to watch. This wasn’t the typical ego-fest. This wasn’t three or four politicians each pretending to play nice while quietly calculating their next move. This was different.

There was genuine respect on that stage. Real admiration. Real alignment. You could feel it. Every speaker made a point to lift up the others, not out of obligation, but out of strategy and shared values. Out of what felt, dare I say, like trust.

For once, it wasn’t everyone scrambling for the spotlight. It was everyone sharing it. Reinforcing the same message, pointing in the same direction, showing the base what it looks like when Democrats stop competing for scraps and start building something together.

Beto went on to talk about Mango Mussolini and the dumb shit he’s doing and what this country could be, and he got a lot of applause, but there were a few moments that really stood out.

He said, “What if we were a country that really stood for human rights, here at home and abroad? And we were no longer complicit in the bombing and slaughtering, and starving of tens of thousands of Gazans, including children.”

The crowd drowned out the rest of what he was saying. Texas Democrats agree. This is a huge disconnect. It’s a big reason why 1.4 million Texas Democrats stayed home in 2024.

This received the second-largest applause during Beto’s speech. The first? That came later during the question-and-answer section, when Beto mentioned Zohran Mamdani. The crowd went bananas at the mention of his name. They loved him.

A few last guests.

Vikki Goodwin was there, stood up at the end, announced she’s running for Lt. Governor, and then stood with the rest of them on stage for the Q&A section.

Joe Jaworski was there; he discussed what he thought an Attorney General should be and how that office has been run into the ground under Republicans, but didn’t explicitly say he was running again.

Kristin Carranza, also there, announced she’s running against John Lujan in the Texas House once more. She has a real shot this time, since 2024 just sucked. But we go onward.

Why this rally mattered.

This wasn’t just another stump speech parade. This wasn’t a bunch of Democrats trying to one-up each other on the same tired stage. This was a declaration. A shift. A line drawn in the sand, bold, clear, and long overdue.

Because, for once, we didn’t see Democrats scrambling for DNC approval. We didn’t hear the usual consultant-tested nonsense about reaching across the aisle or “finding common ground” with fascists. What we saw was a group of Texas Democrats standing together in array, not in chaos. We saw alignment. Intention. Clarity of purpose.

They weren’t kissing rings in Washington. They were telling Washington, “We’re not you.”

And that matters.

It matters because the base is sick of being told to sit down and be grateful while corporate-friendly Democrats throw our values under the bus. It matters because voters in Texas, and across the country, aren’t asking for moderation. They’re asking for meaning. For courage. For a fight.

And that’s what this rally delivered.

You had James Talarico calling out the national party by name. Joaquin Castro is taking on Big Pharma and standing for healthcare justice. Beto calling for Palestinian human rights and invoking Zohran Mamdani like a damn rallying cry. You had a crowd that cheered louder for a New York socialist than for any safe, centrist talking point. That should tell you everything.

This wasn’t Democrats begging for crumbs. This was Democrats organizing for power.

And if this trio, Talarico, Castro, Beto, with Nirenberg and Goodwin and Carranza and maybe even Jaworski tagging in, if they’re truly building a slate, if this is the beginning of a coordinated movement in Texas that defines itself not by the cowardice of Colin Allred or the spinelessness of Chuck Schumer, but by the moral clarity of actual working-class leadership?

Then the game just changed.

Because they’re not running as Democrats in general. They’re running as Texas Democrats.

And they’re not backing down.

LoneStarLeft is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Follow me on Facebook, TikTok, Threads, YouTube, and Instagram.