Can $25 Million Win Over Black Voters in Texas? Talarico Bets Big as Election Day Nears

With less than 60 days until Election Day, Talarico for Texas is rolling out a new cross-generational Black engagement team. The question isn’t whether the campaign will show up — it’s whether they are showing up too late.

“For too long, the Democratic Party has taken Black voters for granted — these investments show we’re not going to make that same mistake,” said James Talarico, U.S. Senate Nominee (D-TX). “We’ve brought on some of the most-decorated operatives in Texas politics to lead this voter outreach effort because there is no way to win Texas without listening to, investing in, and showing up for Black Texans.”

Three veteran Black political operatives are joining the campaign as senior advisors to lead these efforts: Aisha J. McClendon, Delilah Agho-Otoghile and Cliff Walker.

Three Black-owned firms will lead the paid communications program: Bill Burton, former Obama White House deputy press secretary and founder of Bryson Gillette, will lead on TV and digital; Beto O’Rourke for Governor alumna Judy Foston Stanford, president of Foston International Communications of Richmond, Texas, will lead on radio; and Christian Menefee for Congress alumna Linda K. Brown, founder of Advantage Communications Group of Houston, Texas, will lead on print.

Earlier this summer at a Houston town hall, Talarico reportedly pledged to spend $25 million on Black voter outreach, which he said was the largest such investment in modern Texas history.

Sources say the team — many with ties to Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis — is stacked with talent in Dallas, Houston and Austin. But that metro-heavy bench leaves voter-rich Beaumont, Nacogdoches and Tyler waiting for their turn.

“I’ve spent my career working to energize Black voters across the country, and I know this team has what it takes to get the job done,” said former DNC Chair Donna Brazile. “James Talarico understands that winning in Texas requires major investment in Black engagement statewide. That’s why he’s built a team capable of driving massive Black turnout and the coalition needed to take back Texas.”

Still, the timing raises a harder question. A federal appeals court last month overturned a ruling that had blocked key parts of Texas’ sweeping voter suppression law, reviving restrictions on mail-in voting and voter assistance just as the campaign leans on outreach. A 2025 Brennan Center working paper found that “voters whose mail ballots were rejected in the primary were markedly less likely to vote afterward — and those who did often abandoned mail voting altogether.” That kind of drop-off takes sustained investment to reverse, at the exact moment the legal ground is shifting under it.

“It is important for donors to appreciate the fact that no one can talk to Black voters better than Black folks who run organizations to talk to Black voters,” said Derrick Johnson, president of the NAACP, on a recent panel organized by America Votes discussing Black civic engagement headwinds. “Internally we have to be honest about our metrics and our impact.”

Talarico’s campaign is calling the effort the largest Black voter outreach plan of its kind in modern Texas history.

“The investment includes our team of experienced Black staff members from every corner of Texas — door-knocking, relational organizing and in-person community events in Black neighborhoods statewide,” said JT Ennis, Talarico campaign spokesperson. “Paid ads from Black-owned media firms will reach Black Texans on TV, radio, phones and in their mailboxes, alongside deeper engagement with Black churches, community organizations and HBCUs.”

It is still unclear how this outreach effort squares with Rep. Jasmine Crockett’s (D-Texas) recent focus on “campaigning down ballot” — a stance that suggests she won’t be hitting the trail with Talarico after he defeated her in the Democratic Senate primary.

“Our investment in Black voters will be built by Black professionals who know Black communities best,” said Talarico for Texas Political and Coalitions Director Miriam Laeky. “Texas has the highest population of Black folks in the country, and we will continue to put in the work to bring them to the polls.”

The campaign says more is coming — expanded faith outreach, youth engagement and organizing efforts through the Texas Together Coordinated Campaign. Whether it’s enough, and whether it’s in time, is a question only Black Texans can answer on election day.