Obama joins Texas Senate fight, supports Democrat Talarico

Former President Barack Obama is entering the U.S. Senate fight in Texas in hopes of flipping the seat for Democrats.

Former President Obama is backing Texas Democratic candidate James Talarico in his bid for the U.S. Senate seat held by Republican Sen. John Cornyn, The New York Times reported Tuesday, May 11.

This comes after reporters spotted the former president at a Taco Joint in Austin, Texas, posing for a photo with Talarico and Texas Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinajosa.

As the Times reports, when Obama introduced himself to a table, he asked them, "Do you know our outstanding next governor and senator?"

No formal endorsement of the Talarico or Hinajosa was announced at the event or afterward.

As Hinajosa's and Talarico's camp put it, it was just three leaders coming together to discuss how to engage young voters and build an economy that works for working people, "while eating some of the finest tacos Texas has to offer."

Who is James Talarico?

Talarico is no stranger to making waves in Texas politics, having first been elected to the Texas House in 2018 to represent District 50, which includes the northern parts of Austin and Pflugerville.

Talarico still holds his seat and went viral several times last year when the Texas Legislature was in session.

The first time was when the state House was debating the colloquially named Ten Commandments bill, which requires Texas public schools to post donated placards of the Ten Commandments.

During the debate, Talarico asked the main lawmaker in the House supporting the Senate bill, "What was the Fourth Commandment?"

"Keep the Sabbath," state Rep. Candy Noble, R-Murphy, said. "Is this about us being here on Saturday?"

Talarico also made headlines later in 2025 when, during a special session called by Gov. Greg Abbott, several dozen Democratic lawmakers fled the state as Republicans tried to push through a new congressional map at the urging of President Donald Trump.

The map and bill were passed and upheld by the courts, but the series of events led Talarico to throw his hat into the ring to be the next senator from Texas.

He and then-candidate U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett ran a competitive campaign in the Texas Democratic primaries in March, but Talarico ultimately claimed victory and avoided a runoff.

His Republican counterparts were not so lucky with U.S. Sen. John Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton heading to a runoff election later in May.

One of them is set to face Talarico in the November 2026 general election.

A recent poll from Texas Public Opinion Research on April 28 showed that Talarico is pulling ahead of Republican primary runoff candidates Paxton and Cornyn — but only slightly.

Mateo Rosiles is the Texas Connect reporter for USA TODAY and its regional papers in Texas. Got a news tip for him? Email him: [email protected].