After winning a historic election for U.S. Senate as a Texas Democrat, James Talarico wasted no time calling out the billionaire donor behind the two biggest races in the Lone Star State: Elon Musk.
Musk, the SpaceX and Tesla CEO and former head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), spent more than $200 million backing Talarico’s opponent Ken Paxton (R-TX). Toward the end of his campaign, Talarico leveraged this financial backing to rally voters to support him rather than billionaire interests.
"He wanted a senator who was going to do his bidding, who was going to sell off Texas land to his data centers, who was going to give our Texas water, who was going to give our taxpayer dollars," Talarico said in a post-victory interview. "And I think he knows that I have a history of standing up to billionaires in state government.”
Like many Democrats this election, Talarico ran on a campaign focused on fighting corruption to deliver more financial stability for Americans struggling with rising prices of gas, groceries and other necessities.
“I have a history of tackling corruption and cleaning up government, and that's exactly what we're going to do in the U.S. Senate,” Talarico said. “And I think that's what the people of Texas expect me to do on their behalf."
Musk also maintained a close relationship with now-outgoing Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX). Gov.-elect Gina Hinojosa (D-TX) also prevailed in the election after questioning Abbott’s ties to Musk and moving to sue for access to 1,400 pages of correspondence between the two.
The two Democrats later celebrated their victories together, highlighting the mandate they said Texas voters had given them.
"We saw a win the size of Texas, and that means we have a mandate the size of Texas," Talarico said.
