民主党德州参议院候选人詹姆斯·塔拉里科正在积极争取德州边境地区西班牙裔选民的支持，这些选民在2024年选举中出现向共和党转向的态势。[1]玛维里克县的转变最为明显，该县从2020年支持拜登领先10个百分点，转变为2024年支持特朗普领先19个百分点。[1]
塔拉里科将经济问题作为竞选重点，声称现有经济体系对工薪阶层不公平。[1]他针对拜登政府在边境议题上的表现提出批评，表示"拜登政府让边境社区失望了，人们感到沮丧。他们愿意尝试替代方案，共和党人来这里做了一些大承诺。现在他们看到许多承诺没有兑现。"[1]在桑德森，塔拉里科承诺投资监控技术、雇用更多边境巡逻队员和移民法官。[1]
塔拉里科若胜选，将成为自1994年以来首位在德州赢得全州选举的民主党人。[1]他的对手是共和党候选人肯·帕克斯顿，后者强调移民执法和保守价值观。[1]
Democrat James Talarico is campaigning to win back Hispanic voters along the Texas border who shifted toward the Republican Party in the 2024 election.[1] Talarico is attempting to become the first Democrat to win a statewide election in Texas since 1994.[1] He is competing against Republican Ken Paxton, who emphasizes immigration enforcement and conservative values.[1]
The political realignment in the region has been dramatic. Maverick County swung from supporting President Biden by 10 percentage points in 2020 to backing Trump by 19 percentage points in 2024.[1] Talarico has made economic issues central to his campaign, arguing that the economic system is unfair to working-class people.[1] He acknowledged that the Biden administration disappointed border communities, stating: "People in border communities feel let down by the Biden administration, and they're frustrated. They were willing to try a different approach, and Republicans came down here and made big promises. Now they're seeing that a lot of those promises haven't materialized."[1]
Talarico has proposed specific investments for the border region, including advanced monitoring technology, additional Border Patrol agents, and more immigration judges.[1] Recent polling suggests some erosion in Hispanic support for the Republican administration, with an AP-NORC poll showing that 29 percent of Hispanic adults approved of President Trump's performance in June, down from 41 percent at the start of his second term.[1]