Talarico’s $25 Million Black Vote Rescue Mission

Texas, USA – James Talarico is spending millions trying to win over black voters who voted against him in the primary with Jasmine Crockett.

That is the remarkable political story behind the Texas Democrat’s newly announced $25 million Black voter outreach operation, a campaign effort built around experienced Democratic operatives and Black-owned media firms. The timing is hard to miss. Talarico defeated Crockett, one of Texas’ most prominent Black politicians, in the March Democratic Senate primary, yet Black voters had overwhelmingly favored Crockett. Months later, Talarico is constructing a specialized political machine to court that same constituency.

And his former primary opponent isn’t exactly rushing to his side.

Crockett conceded after Talarico won the nomination, but she has repeatedly made clear she intends to campaign for other Democrats rather than hit the trail for Talarico. In an August CNN interview, she said she would be campaigning “down ballot” instead. When asked whether it had to be an either-or proposition, Crockett answered, “for me, it probably is.” The Texas Tribune reported this week that she is preparing endorsements for Texas House and county judge candidates while steering clear of the Senate race.

That is a rather awkward problem for a nominee who needs the Democratic coalition to turn out.

The primary numbers tell the story. Talarico won statewide with about 53% of the vote, but Crockett dominated among Black Democrats. The Texas Tribune reported before the primary that polling showed Crockett receiving more than 71% of Black Democratic support, while post-primary reporting documented that she continued to run especially strong in heavily Black counties. The Washington Post reported that Crockett won counties where at least 20% of residents are Black by roughly 25 points.

Talarico’s answer is a $25 million rescue operation.

Talarico announced the spending commitment during a July town hall in Houston after facing pointed questions from black voters about trust, representation and whether his campaign was doing enough to earn their support. Talarico said the money would go toward advertising, organizing, voter registration, community events and other efforts designed to turn out Black voters.

Now comes the personnel.

According to the campaign announcement shared by CNN reporter Patrick Svitek, Talarico has brought in three Black senior advisers for the outreach effort: Aisha J. McClendon, Delilah Agho-Otoghile and Cliff Walker. He has also hired three Black-owned media firms for targeted advertising: Bryson Gillette for television and digital, Foston International Communications for radio, and Advantage Communications Media Group for print.

These aren’t political amateurs.

McClendon has worked at the highest levels of Democratic politics, including as national director of African American outreach for Beto O’Rourke‘s 2020 presidential campaign. She previously served as chief of staff to Texas state Rep. Toni Rose and worked in the Clinton White House.

Agho-Otoghile brings an even more obvious voter-mobilization pedigree. She was O’Rourke’s Texas state director, previously served as field director for Stacey Abrams‘ 2018 Georgia gubernatorial campaign, and worked on Hillary Clinton‘s 2016 campaign. She later helped create VoteSimple, an organization focused on registering young voters and voters of color. Her current work has been explicitly described as supporting progressive civic engagement in Texas.

Walker is another veteran of the Democratic political infrastructure, including work with the Texas Democratic Party and efforts to recruit and develop diverse candidates. He later co-founded Seeker Strategies, a communications and advocacy firm that describes itself as Black- and Brown-owned and progressive.

The media contracts follow the same political ecosystem.

Foston International Communications, founded by Judy Foston in 1984, is a Houston communications and advertising firm with an established political clientele. Its own website lists Beto O’Rourke’s Senate campaign among its clients. Federal campaign records also show Foston receiving political advertising payments from Democratic campaigns in 2026.

Bryson Gillette specializes in strategic communications, paid media and political campaigns, while Advantage Communications Media Group is being brought in for print.

Look at the personnel chain and a familiar pattern emerges: Clinton, Obama-era Democratic politics, Beto O’Rourke, Stacey Abrams, the Texas Democratic Party, and now James Talarico.

It’s a well-traveled Democratic train. And, judging from the electoral record, it hasn’t exactly been the bullet train to Republican oblivion that Democrats might have hoped for in Texas.

Beto O’Rourke came within 2.6 points of Ted Cruz in 2018, then lost the 2022 governor’s race by more than 11 points. Colin Allred lost to Cruz by 8.5 points in 2024. Now Talarico, whom the Pipkins Reports Ideological Index places substantially farther left than either O’Rourke or Allred, is attempting to become the Democrat who finally breaks the Republican statewide firewall.

Our model currently projects Paxton defeating Talarico roughly 55% to 45%, based on its ideological and turnout assumptions. That is an analytical model, not a poll, and November will have the final word.

For Talarico, the political arithmetic is brutal. He needs the Black voters who overwhelmingly preferred Crockett, while Crockett herself is choosing to spend her political capital elsewhere. So he’s importing veteran operatives, buying targeted media and putting $25 million behind the effort.

Texas voters should watch where that money goes.

Because $25 million isn’t just a campaign promise. Eventually, it becomes a paper trail. And paper trails are where political stories get interesting.