Texas Democrats gather in Corpus Christi with Senate race in focus
Texas Democrats opened their largest convention in Corpus Christi with more than 5,000 expected, betting James Talarico can make the Senate race competitive.
Thousands of Texas Democrats converged in Corpus Christi as the party opened its three-day state convention, setting up an early test of whether James Talarico can turn party enthusiasm into a statewide strategy in a state Republicans still dominate. Party officials said more than 5,000 attendees were expected for the June 25-27 gathering, which they described as the largest Democratic convention in the country.
The Senate race was the central draw. The latest University of Texas/Texas Politics Project poll put Republican Ken Paxton at 43% and Talarico at 42%, a one-point gap inside the survey’s 3.5-point margin of error. Paxton won the Republican nomination on May 26 after defeating incumbent John Cornyn in the GOP runoff, giving Democrats a target they believe they can at least contest if they hold their coalition together.
The convention lineup reflected that push. U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and U.S. Sen. Cory Booker were among the keynote speakers and featured guests, while Talarico and Democratic gubernatorial nominee Gina Hinojosa were scheduled to headline programming alongside party chair Kendall Scudder. Scudder said Democrats were gathering around a vision of “opportunity, freedom and economic security for every Texan.”
The event also laid bare the party’s internal pressures. Democrats entered the convention trying to project unity after a divisive primary, even as U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett had not committed to campaigning for Talarico in the general election. That absence matters in a party trying to broaden its appeal beyond its activist base and prove it can compete statewide with a message that travels outside its core loyalists.
Chuck Rocha, a CBS News political contributor and Talarico campaign adviser, has argued that Talarico’s pitch of “faith and family and jobs” helped him connect with Latino voters, a voting bloc that can shape statewide races in Texas. The Texas Republican Party held its own convention June 11-13 in Houston, underscoring how both parties are using their state gatherings to organize early for the 2026 midterms.
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