James Talarico, the state lawmaker and seminarian who won the Democratic Senate primary in Texas, took aim at billionaires in his victory speech on Wednesday night and said the country’s true divisions were between its haves and have-nots.
“The real fight in this country is not left versus right,” Mr. Talarico, who made a point of trying to appeal to moderates and disaffected Republicans during his campaign, told supporters in Austin. “It’s top versus bottom.”
He began his remarks by praising the opponent he defeated in the primary, Representative Jasmine Crockett, saying that he was “grateful for her voice and her leadership” and pledging to work to earn the trust of her supporters.
Then, in a brief address that blended his Christian faith with denunciations of billionaires, he rallied supporters and tried to build on the recent surge of enthusiasm among Texas Democrats, who hope to win a Senate seat in their deep-red state for the first time since 1988.
“We’re done being divided,” he said. “We’re done being played. We’re done being pitted against each other. That old politics is dying and a new politics is being born.”
Mr. Talarico is vying to succeed Senator John Cornyn, a four-term Republican incumbent who is himself trying to beat back a vigorous primary challenge from Ken Paxton, the hard-right, scandal-plagued state attorney general. Since neither Republican won a majority of the vote Tuesday, they are headed to a runoff in May.
President Trump indicated Wednesday that he would endorse one of the Republicans and called on the candidate he does not back to drop out. Mr. Paxton later said that he had no plans to leave the race, even if he fails to secure the president’s endorsement.
More than $70 million was spent by groups trying to help Senator Cornyn prevail. AdImpact, a media tracking firm, said that was the most ever spent for a Senate incumbent in a primary.
Mr. Talarico used his speech to welcome voters of all kinds: Democrats, independents, Republicans, and young people. “If you hate politics and you’ve never voted before, you have a home in this campaign,” he said.
In the crowd Stephanie Gil, 48, said she was first drawn to Mr. Talarico after hearing about him from her son, Jonah, 16, and that she learned more about him on TikTok and Instagram. She praised him for being “anti-corruption and not like your regular politician.”
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