Democrat James Talarico is spending part of the closing stretch of Texas’ U.S. Senate campaign inside Houston’s Black churches, trying to turn overwhelming support among Black voters into turnout.
His opponent, Republican Ken Paxton, faces almost the reverse challenge. He enjoys a substantial advantage among white voters, but questions from within his own party about the intensity of his campaign have underscored his need to energize conservatives while preventing Talarico from expanding the electorate.
Together, their Houston appearances offer a test of two different strategies for building the coalitions needed to win statewide.
Texas Pulse/TX Bush School ReconMR poll 7/27-7/30 LV
— Politics & Poll Tracker 📡 (@PollTracker2024) August 7, 2026
US Senate Texas 2026
(Black voters surveyed)
🟦James Talarico 87%
🟥Ken Paxton 2%
Link to crosstabs: https://t.co/WhZ8Y3rglV https://t.co/JOkPkkVRnq pic.twitter.com/mwmiaLjvm1
An August Texas Southern University poll of 1,200 likely voters found Talarico leading Paxton 47% to 45%, within the survey’s 3-percentage-point margin of error. Talarico held commanding advantages among Black and Latino voters, while Paxton led among white voters.
For Talarico, Houston illustrates why support alone may need an extra push.
Talarico spent a weekend in August crisscrossing Houston before showing up at Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church and The Luke Church on a Sunday morning, a stop that did not go unnoticed by the church’s majority Black congregants.
The reactions to his appearance ranged from enthusiastic to wary.
What people said
Omar Reid, a deacon of Wheeler, said the visit was encouraging because Black communities have “historically and continuously been marginalized and disenfranchised.” But it was also Talarico’s first visit to Reid’s church.
“We see that marginalization and disenfranchization get put on steroids; we become worried as a community,” Reid said. “We want to be empowered and participate in the things that are going on across our government and across our country.”
Stephanie Jackson, a health care executive, was less impressed by the symbolism. Politicians regularly visit churches during campaigns, she said, describing such appearances as “a stop through” on “the political circuit.”
There seems to be a palpable tension in the Senate campaigns between political courtship and sustained investment. It is central to Talarico’s Houston strategy. At a July town hall, Black voters challenged him on issues including voting rights, Black farmers, DEI, and representation on his campaign staff. During the meeting, Talarico pledged $25 million toward Black voter outreach.
Tiffany Williams, an engineer who follows Talarico, said that church appearances alone would not solve his problem.
“Just the visit will not do it,” Williams said.
She argued Talarico had been too quiet toward African Americans after winning the Democratic primary and warned against assuming Black voters would automatically turn out.
“As a Democrat, I am looking to hear more of what Talarico will do for us as a body, not just African Americans, but Democrats in general,” Williams added. “As a Christian, I’m really interested to see if he’s going to go to our national capital and really fight and advocate for Texans as well as reestablish what was previously in order prior to the Trump administration.”
Still, the church visits can introduce Talarico to voters who know little about him.
Jasmine Wilson, a 20-year church member, said she initially asked, “Who is this guy?”
His appearance alongside Congressman Christian Menefee gave him credibility with her and prompted her to learn more. Menefee’s presence was effectively a vouching system.
“They must be in the same cahoots if Christian is bringing him,” said Wilson, after which she still felt she needed to learn who he is.
Wilson also noticed something else. Talarico stayed until the worship ended.
“I was surprised that he actually stayed through the service,” she said. “A lot of them [political candidates] come just to get their names announced, and then they’ll may stay for a bit, and then they leave. He actually generally stayed during service and worshiped, so that may make a difference to some.”
Paxton’s campaign
Paxton, meanwhile, is confronting questions about whether he has been visible enough at all. The Defender’s request for Paxton’s voter-support strategies to his campaign team went unanswered.
At an August rally at Houston’s White Oak Music Hall, Paxton sought to reassure Republicans after conservative commentators publicly questioned the pace of his campaign.
“We want to be empowered and participate in the things that are going on across our government and across our country.”
Omar Reid, a deacon of Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church
Fox News host Jesse Watters had asked, “Where’s Paxton?” while conservative influencer Link Lauren criticized a July European trip.
“I’m going to keep working 17 hours a day. Whatever it takes,” Paxton told several hundred supporters in Houston.
Paxton defended the overseas trip by saying he had gone to see his daughter and granddaughter. His campaign has since accelerated its public schedule, including four rallies in five days.
Paxton has also argued that his slower start in the general election was due in part to his prolonged Republican primary battle. In a separate interview, he said he emerged from the May 26 runoff with “$0 left to spend,” while Talarico had months to raise money.
“We’ve been trying to build it up during the summer, which is challenging, but we’re going to get there…they will build up as we get closer to the election. So it’s just a matter of time,” Paxton said, promising a more aggressive campaign as resources increase.
Paxton’s campaign rhetoric of keeping Texas conservative, fighting the “radical left,” tightening mail-ballot rules, and portraying Talarico as outside the Texas mainstream is built to consolidate a base he already holds comfortably rather than expand it.
He leaned into exactly that framing in a recent interview, casting Talarico as a “socialist Democrat” masquerading as a moderate, and arguing that once his campaign has the money to “expose more of his record,” the race will tighten.
