If James Talarico pulls off a squeaker win in the Democratic primary for one of Texas’ U.S. Senate seats, he might have Stephen Colbert to thank for that.
Early voting in Texas began on Tuesday for the March 3 primary. The Texas Senate race has already been a marquee event given the blood feud between incumbent Republican Sen. John Cornyn, who is trying to fight off a primary challenge from ultra-MAGA attorney general Ken Paxton.
The prospect of Paxton, who was previously impeached and whose wife divorced him on “biblical grounds” because of his alleged infidelity, has made Democrats think they have a chance at winning a Senate seat in a place where Democrats have not won statewide since 1998.
Enter Colbert.
On Tuesday evening, his The Late Show planned on having Talarico as a guest. But the Trump-bashing late-night host said CBS’s lawyers tried to prevent Talarico from appearing on the show citing the Federal Communications Commission’s Equal Time rule.
Colbert proceeded to post the interview with Talarico on YouTube. The result? As of Wednesday afternoon, 6.1 million people viewed the video and he raised $2.5 million in the 24 hours after the interview.
That is a massive haul and brought back memories of his former The Colbert Report show where a fictionalized right-wing version of himself would often feature candidates who would then receive what was called “The Colbert Bump.”
Unsurprisingly, Rep. Jasmine Crockett, his Democratic primary opponent, criticized the move.
“We received information suggesting that the federal government did not shut down this segment,” she told reporters on Wednesday. Crockett added that there may have been advice that if the show featured Talarico, it would have to also feature Crockett.
“It was my understanding that someone somewhere decided ‘we just don’t want to do that, and instead, we’re going to just do it this way,’” she said.
Colbert for his part defended his claim. And Crockett has previously been on the show. But in a state of politics where attention matters as much as money, Colbert may have given Talarico the one thing he needs against Crockett: name recognition.
Crockett gained plenty of name ID thanks to being a congresswoman on the House Oversight Committee. In that capacity, she earned plaudits for her willingness to joust with Republicans, famously tagging Marjorie Taylor Greene with the moniker “bleach-blonde bad-built butch body.” When she criticized Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina, Mace threated to “take it outside.”
When The Independent spoke to her about her approach to politics in 2024, she said she wanted to show that Democrats aren’t “weak” and that, “I’m also supposed to be the person that is really saying what everybody else is thinking that never gets said.”
It’s paid off in many ways — Crockett became a massive fundraiser, trailing only the likes of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Talarico simply can’t match that as a state legislator from the Austin area.
But having the visibility of a viral YouTube moment and being the subject oif the latest Trump administration war with Colbert gives him an opportunity to raise massive amounts of money. A person who actively seeks out a video of a Senate candidate is also the type of person who will give money.
In addition, Crockett and Talarico have competing visions for how they plan to win the state. Crockett has focused heavily on the idea that she could boost turnout from the Democratic base, despite the fact Donald Trump won the state by double digits. Talarico for his part persuade voters, appearing on The Joe Rogan Experience, where Rogan praised him.
But running statewide in a highly-watched race is different from a state legislative race and Talarico has yet to come under the serious scrutiny a statewide candidate in a contentious race.
And appearing on Colbert’s show can easily earn him ridicule from conservatives that liberal Hollywood, New York and Austin like him, but he’s out of touch with Wichita Falls, Lubbock or Loving. It’s a criticism Texas Republicans made of Beto O’Rourke that likely cost him a few points in 2018 when he nearly beat Sen. Ted Cruz.
Still, the fact Talarico and Crockett are jostling over who gets the megaphone illustrates that Democrats genuinely see an opportunity to win in a state that’s eluded them for decades.
