Talarico’s victory sends message about style, not ideology

Texas state Rep. James Talarico’s win over Rep. Jasmine Crockett in the Texas Democratic primary was hailed Wednesday by some as a victory for moderates over progressives in the party’s never-ending civil war.

Yet Talarico’s victory might have been more of a win for candidates who are moderate in style and tone, not policy.

Talarico is hardly a centrist. He’s a progressive who has backed transgender rights and Medicare for all, issues his GOP opponent in the general election is sure to raise on the campaign trail in the coming months.

But his style is not as fiery as Crockett’s, and many Democrats saw his candidacy as the better bet in a general election because of that. That might even be why he won the primary.

“He connects to anyone,” Mark Cuban, the billionaire investor and former owner of the Dallas Mavericks, told The Hill. “He can sit at a family dinner where half are [Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.)] supporters and half are Trump supporters and make the dinner civil.” 

“The only criticism you can make is that maybe he is too nice, which in this age of division is a good problem to have,” Cuban said.

Democratic strategist Joel Payne put it this way: “Voting for Talarico wasn’t about voting for progressive versus moderate.

“He talked about things like faith that was culturally resonant there and his ability to link his faith to his politics successfully plays into the larger signaling that, ‘Hey, I can attract a larger coalition and I can tell the story of progressivism in a way that is more palatable to a larger population.’” 

To be sure, the style question can raise some uncomfortable questions given the differences between Talarico, a white man, and Crockett, a Black woman.

Crockett, for example, has become known for her in-your-face style, where she has generated headlines and clicks on social media by going after Republican rivals — including former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), whom she mocked last year by saying she had “bleach-blond, bad-built, butch body” during a House committee hearing that went viral.

She also infamously called Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R), who uses a wheelchair, “Governor Hot Wheels.” 

Talarico’s approach is softer, and strategic.

At a time when many Democrats are trying to emulate President Trump and his bombastic tones, Talarico sought to reach out to voters beyond the Democratic base, speaking in measured ways to moderates and soft Republicans.

“Crockett is an amazing communicator but she didn’t adjust from what is most effective for being a brawler in Oversight hearings to what is needed to run a state-wide campaign,” Democratic strategist Eddie Vale said, referring to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. “Talarico is also a great messenger but he always had his focus from the start, and the nuts and bolts of his campaign directed at what gets you to 50 +1 to win a primary and then a general election for a Senate race in Texas.”

Democratic strategist Hyma Moore said Talarico’s win on Tuesday showed that Democrats crave more than a fighter at the moment.

“I have never agreed with the fact that Dems are strictly looking for a fighter right now,” Moore said. “Yes, they want to do everything they can to cap the power of Donald Trump… but if you look at what’s been happening all across the country…the kind of candidates Democrats are electing are one, young, two, can last beyond the MAGA era,” Moore said, adding that they’re mostly looking for a “pragmatic” candidate.

In the final weeks of the campaign, Talarico got an unexpected boost after CBS declined to air his interview on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” citing legal guidance that it could trigger the Federal Communications Commission’s “equal time” rule for other candidates. The segment ran online instead. Democrats say Talarico handled the snafu deftly — turning the moment into a burst of attention while generating a swell of fundraising as he made his final pitch to voters in the state.

Moore said Talarico, to his credit, “was able to use the ground swell and translate that into getting votes on his behalf” and even outperforming Republicans for the first time in decades.

Joel Montfort, a Democratic strategist based in Texas, agreed there was a “clear shift in the momentum” following Colbert. But Montfort also said there was a change in the way voters viewed the candidates.

“Democrats this cycle in Texas seem to be very strategically thinking about electability, and that hasn’t always been the case in the past,” he said. “It tells me they want something toned down, more amenable, maybe somebody who will figure out how to work with the Republican Party.” 

Cuban said the young age of so many of Talarico’s voters “reflects the fact that they want someone who understands social media and someone who fills their feed with positive messages and bolts their algorithm towards inspiring messages.”

That view “makes him unique,” he said.

Julia Mueller contributed.

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Talarico’s victory sends message about style, not ideology

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