Talarico Tells a Rain-Soaked Texas A&M Crowd 'Texas Is Not for Sale' on the Last Day of Early Voting

James Talarico took the stage at Aggie Park on Friday in his first rally on Texas A&M's campus since February, and his message for the crowd of hundreds who turned out in poor weather was an underdog's: 'We are the underdogs in this race,' The Battalion reported. The stop was part of his 'Clear Eyes, Full Hearts Tour,' named for the television show Friday Night Lights, and it came on the final day of early voting in his Senate race against Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton — a race Talarico leads by two points in a recent Emerson College poll, the paper reported.

The speech's center was money. 'We are literally going up against the richest man in the world,' Talarico said, referring to Elon Musk, who has endorsed Paxton. 'This election is a battle between the powers that be and the powers that ought to be. The powers that be have chosen their candidate. They have bought and paid for Ken Paxton, but we are standing for the powers that ought to be.' He said Musk has poured more than $190 million into the Senate race in support of Paxton, citing Texas Tribune reporting based on Federal Election Commission filings, and contrasted it with his own campaign: 'Our movement is funded by 1.6 million individuals who have donated their hard-earned money to this campaign; Ken Paxton is funded by one dude.' The close was a slogan: 'Texas is not for sale.'

The rally was also a downballot and cross-party show. Democratic nominees including agriculture commissioner candidate Clayton Tucker and Texas House District 14 candidate Janet Dudding spoke, The Battalion reported, and so did Bryan Mayor Pro Tem and City Councilman James Edge — a Republican who has endorsed Talarico and told the paper the local party's precinct chairs had voted to condemn him for it the day before. 'We need him in Washington,' Edge said. State Senator Sarah Eckhardt, the Democratic nominee for comptroller, told The Battalion before the event: 'We're seeing a wave. We're seeing an incredible level of enthusiasm that's infectious.'