James Talarico, a Democrat running for U.S. Senate in Texas, met with voters Wednesday night at a town hall event hosted by CNN and Jubilee.
He repeatedly reached out to skeptical Republicans and independents, insisting he was willing to break with his party if it would benefit the state.
“I’m proud to be a Texas Democrat, but I already have a religion and I already have a sports team,” he said. “So I have no problem sharing hard truths with the party if it’s what’s best for Texas.”
Talarico, a former seminary student, peppered his remarks with references to his own “spiritual heroes” and also mentioned the past three popes. He said he feels he can find common ground with conservatives by looking at solutions to the problems that drive cultural divisions, rather than treating them as a political hammer to “bash heads with.”
He will face Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton in the November midterm elections. Mr. Paxton, who has refused to debate Mr. Talarico and has not responded to calls for his own town hall, was absent from nearly all of Wednesday night’s debate in Fort Worth.
Democrats need a net gain of four seats to win a Senate majority, and flipping Republican-held seats in Texas would be a big step forward in their efforts.
Here are some articles that went viral last week and photos that caught our eye.
