James Talarico says he’s raised $27 million in first three months of 2026, part of Democratic fundraising surge

By David Wright, CNN

(CNN) — Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico announced a first-quarter fundraising haul of more than $27 million on Wednesday, among the largest totals reported by a US Senate candidate.

Talarico, a state representative and Presbyterian seminarian, won the Democratic nomination in March over US Rep. Jasmine Crockett. His campaign said he has raised $10 million since the March 3 primary.

Democrats are hoping Talarico will be able to put reliably red Texas in play at the statewide level as they face a tough national map for Senate control that would require them to net four seats. The Democratic state representative will face the winner of a May 26 runoff in the Republican primary between incumbent Sen. John Cornyn and state Attorney General Ken Paxton.

Talarico’s campaign has drawn comparisons to former Rep. Beto O’Rourke’s 2018 bid against Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, in which O’Rourke raised then record-sums and galvanized state Democrats, ultimately losing to Cruz by less than three points. In the first quarter of that election year, O’Rourke had raised $6.8 million, and he went on to raise a total of $80 million for the race.

No Democrat has won statewide in Texas in three decades. But Cornyn’s allies argue nominating Paxton would require Republicans to invest tens of millions of dollars in a general election.

Talarico is among several Democratic Senate candidates announcing strong first-quarter fundraising totals this week around the Wednesday deadline to file reports with the Federal Election Commission.

Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff, who has a competitive reelection contest as the only incumbent Democrat running in a state won by President Donald Trump in 2024, said that he raised $14 million in the first quarter and would report over $31 million in cash on hand.

Meanwhile, former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, running in another battleground contest pivotal to Democratic hopes of flipping the Senate, said that he raised $13.8 million.

Cooper’s opponent, former RNC chair Michael Whatley, announced that he had raised $5 million in the first quarter.

Former Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, running to return to the Senate, raised $12.5 million in the quarter, after losing reelection to Sen. Bernie Moreno in 2024. Brown is likely to face Republican Sen. Jon Husted, appointed last year to Vice President JD Vance’s seat, in another closely watched race

Democratic candidates in contested primaries in Maine and Michigan – two more states the party must win in order to chart a path back to the majority – also reflected the enthusiasm among donors.

Graham Platner, the Maine veteran and oyster farmer, raised $4 million for his Senate campaign in the first quarter, outraising his primary rival, Gov. Janet Mills, who brought in $2.6 million. The winner will take on GOP Sen. Susan Collins, a resilient incumbent already backed by pledges of more than $40 million in outside spending.

And in Michigan, state Rep. Mallory McMorrow brought in $3 million, just ahead of Abdul El-Sayed, who raised $2.25 million. Rep. Haley Stevens, another top Democratic contender, has not yet announced her totals.

Former Rep. Mike Rogers, the lead GOP candidate, has not announced his totals either, but like Collins in Maine, Rogers is backed by pledges of tens of millions of dollars in outside spending support.

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