The Liberals Are After Me And Other Tuesday Musings

Talarico’s launch, Beto’s future, and what 2026 could look like.

Now, before you go and get your panties in a bunch, some of my best friends are liberals. And we’ll get to that. But if you’ve been tuned out from the news today, you may have missed that James Talarico has officially announced his bid for US Senate.

Then, I see all of these Republicans and non-Texas Democrats online saying along the lines of, “Liberal James Talarico has announced candidacy for Senate.” Truth be told, I’m not even sure Texas Democrats use “liberal” in their vernacular so much anymore.

So, I said on Threads, mostly in jest, “If I see another person call James Talarico a liberal, I will fight you. My homie James is a true TEXAS PROGRESSIVE!!” 🤣

That made a few people mad. They called me divisive and said we’re all supposed to be one big party. You, and me, and Talarico, and Mamdani, and Fetterman.

Yeah, okay, sure. The way I see it (here we go, talking about ideology again), liberals and progressives are mostly the same, with a few key differences. For example:

• Liberals are willing to keep the for-profit healthcare system continue, while progressives are more likely to be in favor of a universal healthcare system.

While we don’t agree on everything economically, we are completely aligned socially with LGBTQ+ rights, women’s rights, and education. And that’s okay, we don’t have to agree on everything, sometimes we meet people where they are and work from there.

But here it was, Talarico’s announcement day, and here I am, a Texas progressive, knowing “liberal” is no longer widely used in Texas Democratic vernacular. So, I said what I said.

For Lone Star Left, I’m mostly reaching my intended audience anyway. (Republican spies not included.)

September 2, Lone Star Left reader poll

Did you see this new Gallup poll? It says that while 42% of Democrats see capitalism in a positive light, 66% of Democrats see socialism in a positive light. Of course, right-wing media is having a field day with it, but I think it speaks volumes about some of our rising stars like AOC and Zohran Mamdani, and the future of the Democratic Party.

And I also think that anyone who is running for Congress (or Senate) should be running on Medicaid for All. The economic data is there to back it up. The moral case is there to back it up. And now the polling backs it up. It’s a winning issue in this cycle.

What’s everyone saying about Talarico’s announcement?

There is a lot of excitement right now. And a whole lot of Colin who? Talarico has been hitting the podcast circuit all day long, with appearances from Bryan Tyler Cohen, Keith Edwards, and Chris Matthews, to name a few that popped up on my phone. He also has a big rally in Round Rock later today. Pedal to the metal, full speed. And he needs to do that every day for the next fourteen months.

I’ve seen some people online talk about how Beto, Joaquin Castro, and Talarico need to all sit down and figure out who’s going to run for which seat. (Obviously, they aren’t Lone Star Left readers.)

I’ve been telling everyone that Joaquin Castro is going to run for governor.

Do I know that for a fact? No.

Did someone tell me that? No.

Do I have super secret insider information? No.

I’m wishcasting, manifesting, if you will.

Of course, then I keep getting hit back with, “What about Bobby Cole?” Or one of the other dozen or so Democrats who have filed to run against Abbott. Honestly, I wish them nothing but the best in the world, and if they can pull it off, they’ll have my full support.

We need a big name to run against Abbott, who can raise $80 million.

That gives us: Joaquin Castro, Beto, and Jasmine Crockett.

First, Jasmine Crockett has shown no interest whatsoever in leaving DC and running for governor in Texas. I know some have pushed her to run for Senate, but now that Talarico has announced, I’m unsure if she will.

In my honest opinion, in 2026, I think either Beto or Castro can win against Abbott.

I don’t think Beto will run because it’s risky, and he doesn’t want to lose again.

Castro can win. And with Talarico running for the Senate seat, it would be a match made in heaven. But we can’t talk about 2026 without talking about Beto O’Rourke. Love him or hate him, he’s been the backbone of Texas Democrats for the last decade.

Where does that leave Beto?

When we published the Open Letter to Talarico and Castro, I received some angry emails for not including Beto in the conversation because no Democrat in Texas has done more for Texas Democrats than Beto.

Say what you want about him losing races, Beto has always shown up. He showed up in the Panhandle when teachers were fighting school closures. He showed up in Uvalde when grieving families demanded answers. He showed up in East Texas towns most Democrats haven’t set foot in for decades, shaking hands and listening. And when the lights went out during Winter Storm Uri, Beto organized phone banks to check on seniors and delivered water to neighborhoods that had been forgotten.

Win or lose, Beto has put in the work. He’s kept the flame alive for Democrats in Texas when many others wrote the state off.

He came so close in 2018. 2020 wasn’t the right move for him, and 2022 wasn’t his fault. Luck of the Irish, or something. And while we all know that Beto should be our leader in so many ways, and we all love him, we can’t put the entire future of Texas politics on his shoulders.

And Beto has been all over the country this year, making speeches and fighting for democracy. I’ve watched a lot of them. He’s come a long way since 2020.

One podcast that, if you haven’t seen it, is worth checking out:

The online discourse over the last few months between leftists and liberals has been fascinating, especially when Texans got involved and proudly claimed that Beto is everything that liberals claimed they wanted Gavin to be. Beto has been doing everything for years that liberals are now egging Gavin on to do.

And maybe Beto still decides to run for something this year, or perhaps he holds out until 2028 and takes out Ted Cruz, or runs for president. Because I’ll tell you this, with all the chatter about the 2028 presidential primary, if it came down to Beto and Gavin on the ballot, I’d pick Beto.

For the record, Beto is progressive, Gavin is a liberal.

Whether Beto runs for Senate this year, or something else, or he takes on a role similar to Stacy Abrams this year, building infrastructure and registering voters to flip the state, his story is far from over.

When Texas turns blue, Beto’s fingerprints will be all over it, whether he’s the one on the ballot or not.

So yeah, I’m feeling good about Texas in 2026.

The energy is here, the candidates are here, and the people are ready. The only things that can stop us now are Republican cheating, Trump blowing up the world, or a straight-up zombie apocalypse. Short of that? It’s looking pretty damn good.

• November 4: Constitutional/TX18/SD09 Election

• Who Will Be On The 2026 State Ballot?

• Who Will Be On The 2026 Federal Ballot?

• Click here to find out what Legislative districts you’re in.

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