Tejano, Talarico & The Democratic Resurrection in Texas

Added: 2026-05-27

[00:00:00]Oh yeah, we're we're a bunch of Mexican rednecks down here, man. Our our people our people down here, we I I'm not lying. We're country we're real country boys down here.

[00:00:09]>> I'm an Anglo redneck, but I feel your pain. I get you.

[00:00:12]>> Yeah. Yeah. We I mean, you know, our biggest fundraisers down here are ski shoots.

[00:00:17]>> Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped, and battle hardened.

[00:00:23]>> There is not a liberal America and a conservative America. is the United States of America.

[00:00:31]>> Good night and good luck.

[00:00:34]>> Hey folks, welcome back to the Lincoln Project podcast. As always, I'm your host, Rick Wilson. I want to thank everybody for joining us today. As always, do me a big favor before we get started. Like and subscribe on whatever app you are listening on. I am absolutely thrilled today to have Bobby Pledo uh on with us. Bobby Pledo is running for the uh nomination in Texas 15. He is a absolute superstar in this year's campaign firmament. A guy who really has a uh a non-political background but has made a big splash in Texas this year because he has really broken through. Uh Bobby, I want to welcome you to the show. Thank you so much for coming on today. How is the campaign going? Tell us about about how it feels on the ground right now.

[00:01:19]>> It feels amazing. Um, and and and I and I know everybody that's ever run for office says the same thing. I truly mean it. It feels really good. Uh, I I come from a political family, Rick. My my my uncle was the longest servant district attorney in the state of Texas for 30 years down here in the county. And my other uncle actually was county clerk and then became county judge. So, we've been a part of campaigns uh all my life.

[00:01:46]I was a political science major in college. And so uh yeah, I I I am a political nerd and but uh but music got in the way and so so >> a hobbyist.

[00:01:58]>> Yeah, you know, music was my hobby and became my you know, but politics always been my passion.

[00:02:04]>> Nice to meet you, too.

[00:02:05]>> Campaign season typically means meeting voters, door knocking, and delivering signs.

[00:02:10]>> All right.

[00:02:11]>> But one congressional contender is already well known for his music career.

[00:02:19]Bobby Pledo is a Latin Grammy winning Tehano music star who spent more than three decades performing for thousands of fans and racking up millions in sales.

[00:02:29]>> My music has been really impactful in the community and the culture that we have. But I want my life to to be more than that. And there's nothing greater than the than the honor of serving. But in 2026, he's using his star power to host concertlike political rallies, running as a Democrat for Texas 15th congressional district. Bledo is hoping that a centrist message can give Democrats a shot at winning back Hispanic men and flipping a South Texas district that back President Trump in 2024.

[00:02:58]>> I'm all for border enforcement. That's fine. I'm all for a secure border.

[00:03:04]But the way they're doing it right now, I think, is is angering a lot of people.

[00:03:08]Pledo is betting that Latino voters who are frustrated at the administration's immigration policies will turn out for Democrats. But in 2025, Texas Republicans redrrew some of the state's congressional districts to favor Republicans in hopes of maintaining the same strong support they saw from Latino voters in 2024. Trump is not on the ballot in Texas for 2026, but the impact of his policies will be tested through local, state, and federal elections.

[00:03:36]>> But it's looking really good, Rick.

[00:03:38]We've gone out, we've gone, we've gone to all 11 counties in the district.

[00:03:42]>> Um, and the turnout, >> you know, some our our our specifically my my uh uh district is heavily heavily gerrymandered. So, there's there are some really really red towns, right? Red counties that are super red, >> right? There's some that don't have a Democratic party.

[00:04:02]>> Literally, there's not a Democratic party structure. And so we've actually gone to these counties >> and man, we drew 150 people at a town hall in a county that doesn't have a Democratic party structure and and it's been going great.

[00:04:19]>> So your district, the the the the 15th, is a district that in 2024 swung towards Trump and now it is seemingly swinging quite a bit away from Trump. talk to us about what has what has led those folks in your district um to walk away from Trump and and and and the administration and the Republican party this year.

[00:04:40]>> Well, you know, down in the Rio Grand Valley where where I live, this is this is somewhere where immigration is really hitting hard. People are not against the border enforcement. They're against the enforcement on the streets. They're they're against people going in there and violating Fourth Amendment principles and just entering houses and stuff like that and racial profiling.

[00:05:01]That's something that our people do not like.

[00:05:03]>> Right. So, but but it's that and it's economic. Rick, I I mean, >> the majority of our people down here, >> we come from very humble beginnings. We don't have generational wealth. And for the first time in in in history, a lot of our people here are small business owners that can't find a workforce anymore. Like literally this they have made business really hard.

[00:05:28]>> I did vote for Mr. Trump. Deporting the criminals is a great policy. These foundations are poured, ready to go and we can't even start the construction on them. But we voted for the American dream and unfortunately right now we're not seeing that.

[00:05:43]>> For months, federal agents have been sweeping up workers at construction sites in South Texas.

[00:05:48]>> ICE has rated us anywhere between 10 to 15 times throughout different subdivisions.

[00:05:53]>> Now work sites across the Rio Grand Valley have grown to a halt. And that's got some Trump supporters in this midterm battleground changing their minds. These people would just show up to our job sites with no warrants, taking all our workers, even the workers with proper documentation.

[00:06:09]>> Many who work in the construction industry here told us they largely rely on immigrant workers, some of whom are undocumented. DHS did not respond to the Times request for comment, but in a previous statement, it said these raids protect the nation's workforce.

[00:06:22]>> I've supported Mr. Trump in every election that he's been a part of. We just never thought that this would come and affect us in the construction industry, but most importantly affect our economy here in South Texas.

[00:06:33]>> We are seeing a reduction or almost 60% of our volume on the residential side of our business. We applied for bankruptcy in December.

[00:06:42]>> We saw a drop in sales of about $5.3 million. For 40 years, we had never laid anybody off and until this happened, we were forced to. And beyond construction, local businesses say fear is keeping shoppers at home.

[00:06:57]>> And there's been a lot of loss of sales because of that. It killed us this year.

[00:07:03]>> Construction is one of the main pillars to the economy here. Everybody's hurting >> and the biggest opportunity that we have are the inroads in the business community and small business community because now they see the suffering and they're like, "Hey, hold on, man. I mean, my numbers are way down. business is hard and these are people that traditionally voted Republican uh recently.

[00:07:27]>> Yeah. That that that that idea that you have this sort of twofur in a district like yours, which is uh the the immigration stuff being and I I divorced what they do on immigration from the border security thing, but they're they've they've really botched immigration and they've really botched um the economic stuff with the tariffs and everything else.

[00:07:50]And it seems to me that that you're right that that is an opportunity that you might not have had two years ago or four years ago in this district. But now you got folks in the Rio Grand Valley who are waking up in the morning and saying, "Wait a minute. You know, our farms are are are going bankrupt. We can't get we can't get workers. We can't, you know, fuel prices are up through the sky." all these things that that suddenly, you know, you can't spin your way out of high gas prices and high grocery prices and bad tariffs and bad decisions about things that lead to people not being able to to get a workforce anymore.

[00:08:24]>> And that's seems to me that you're here at the right moment.

[00:08:28]>> And and I might add I might add something, Rick. This district on paper, it's it it looks like it's damn near impossible, right? you look at the district and say it's Trump won it by 18 points. But what we what we did was we went and looked at the 2022 data >> and what that data told us is 2024 was a huge anomaly.

[00:08:50]>> Right. Because this district is more red, but not by a lot. It's very >> That's right.

[00:08:58]>> Rochelle Garza ran against Ken Paxton for district attorney, I mean for for attorney general in the state of Texas.

[00:09:05]And in 2022 inside of this district, she lost it by less than one point. So, so, so it's Beto lost it to Abbott by less like about two points and that's when he said he would take away the AR-15.

[00:09:20]>> The high impact high velocity round when it hits your body shreds everything inside of your body because it was designed to do that so that you would bleed to death on a battlefield and not be able to get up and kill one of our soldiers. when we see that being used against children. And in Odessa, I met the mother of a 15-year-old girl who was shot by an AR-15. And that mother watched her bleed to death over the course of an hour because so many other people were shot by that AR-15 in Odessa in Midland. There weren't enough ambulances to get to them in time. Hell yes, we're going to take your AR-15, your AK-47. We're not going to allow it to be used against our fellow Americans anymore. And that was like incredibly something really really really hurtful to his campaign. And so do I think that in a in a year >> in that part of the world?

[00:10:09]>> Yeah.

[00:10:10]>> Oh gosh. Oh yeah. We're we're a bunch of Mexican rednecks down here, man. Our our people our people down here, we I'm not lying. We're country we're real country boys down here.

[00:10:21]>> I'm an Anglo redneck, but I feel your pain. I get you.

[00:10:23]>> Yeah. Yeah. We I mean, you know, our biggest fundraisers down here are ski shoots, right? We like ski shoots and and and and you know, so we're country boys. We're country girls here.

[00:10:35]>> Listen, I I think that's one thing that that Democrats need to be smarter about in this world is run run candidates in areas who are like the people in the areas they're running. And you have that vibe. You have that that association.

[00:10:50]You have that sense of like like a normal guy from the Rio Grand Valley.

[00:10:55]You're not playing the game of I'm going to run like I'm AOC from New York or somebody from California or somebody from anywhere else. You're running like a guy from the community, from this area, right? I think that's a really smart way to live in in an environment like this where it may be a tough seat on paper, but you're connecting with people at a level that's in their gut and their heart. They know they know you're they know you're a guy who's from the community.

[00:11:20]>> Oh, absolutely. And that's the thing, right? Sometimes they use this as a as a pjorative to tell me, "Oh, he's a celebrity. He doesn't really know um a policy or, you know, he's not this political guy." And I I will tell you, the the majority of the people that vote for me talk like me. And and and I think sometimes as as a as a party, we tend to nominate people that are really really smart, but really out of touch with the voters, and they don't connect.

[00:11:50]And so to me, yeah, >> I I I believe in talking like the people talk. Um I I am a political nerd. I'd love to get into policy, but you'd be surprised how many people just want to vote for the person that they trust and a person that will do the right thing in their best interest. And it really sounds simple, but it really is when it comes down to that.

[00:12:11]>> You know, I think you're exactly right on that, Bobby. It is it is people when they feel a connection to you as a real person. Like you could bring out a 500page policy book and they're going to go h but you talk to them about things that values you share from that part of the world and and and and the way you reflect the values of the of the of this district and the communities in the district. I think that's just a really it's refreshing. I think people I think in some ways the Democrats have lost a lot of ground in the country because they would run people who all look like they came out of one factory in DC not >> came out of the you know Rio Grand Valley >> right I agree with that wholeheartedly and I I think that's the thing that's that I'm I'm I'm really noticing in this in this campaign um you know on on my primary night of election night um when we when we when we won our our primary u my opponent went out there and said, "Oh, you know, this isn't about who you're electing to sing at your daughter's kinsetta."

[00:13:12]>> South Texans deserve so much better.

[00:13:16]This election isn't about who you want performing at your niece's kinsetta.

[00:13:21]It's about who you trust with your family's future.

[00:13:25]>> As if it was a >> like really like if it was a bad thing.

[00:13:29]So, we turned it on him and said, "You know what? invite us to your kinetas and we'll go and I'll sing a song and and I'll >> I love that. By the way, >> we we've had like 3,500 invitations and and I I'm not lying. And and and I'm going to say 60 >> 60% of them are in district.

[00:13:51]So, we're going >> Amazing to Yeah, we're actually like this past weekend we did six in one night.

[00:13:58]>> Um two weeks ago I did >> That's amazing. 12 events in one day, right? We literally had from 8 o'clock in the morning to to 12:00 at night, we had the schedule full.

[00:14:10]>> I love it.

[00:14:10]>> And and we're talking to voters and meeting people that in the course of a campaign, you never see because they're workingass people, so they work 9 to5.

[00:14:20]They go home because they're tired, right? And their only time that they go out is is in the weekend at night. And we get to get get in front of them. You know, we sacrifice as parents for our kids and and I didn't have a girl, but I see that all of the all the kinetas that we've done, the parents really go out a lot. They go all out to make it special.

[00:14:52]I think Bobby Pledo would make a great politician because of everything he does for us and because he's a great person.

[00:15:07]>> Now, we don't get overly political. We just say I'm Bobby Pledo and I'm running for Congress. Now, here's the other thing is we are collecting their they are giving us their data. So, we have somebody signing people in and we we are finding out that a lot of these people are registered but they don't vote because nobody's really inspired them to vote. Now, we we do believe that we're going to bring out a big big swath of unconventional voters. Um, I hate even to say this to I hate even to say this, Rick, but much like Trump, >> Trump always tended to overperform the polling because he brings out people that just don't answer polls. And we have a lot of those same people that just don't answer polls, but but they're they're actually excited about what we're doing.

[00:15:56]>> So, that that is a very true statement.

[00:15:58]Trump Trump's secret sauce was always that people who were active active voters either sort of or whatever on him, but lower propensity voters knew who he was and they were intrigued.

[00:16:11]>> That idea of a connection to people um and in his case it was the apprentice.

[00:16:16]In your case, it's music >> and and and and that's fine. And and if people associate you with doing something that also meets them where they are, you talk about those those those working-class voters who are damn tired at the end of every day, they're not going to necessarily come out to a town hall meeting on a Wednesday night, but they might go out on a weekend night on a Friday or Saturday and and and that is a way to touch those people and to reach those people that that most campaigns would not take advantage of.

[00:16:47]and and it and I'm I'm very happy you're you're getting the data, you're getting them signed up, you know, be in touch with those voters all the way home on this thing. So, I want to talk to you a little bit about your opponent who um has decided she's going to basically basically run this as the the basic Republican candidate uh against Medicare, against Medicaid, against SNAP. Um how's that playing for her in a time where where the economy in your area, the country is really in trouble?

[00:17:14]I think Rick, that's why we're going to beat her because because let me tell you something. This area of the real Grand Valley, my area, my region is the lowest per capita income in the state and arguably in the nation. It's very hard to be a Republican because you're going to be forced to vote against your own people. So, she sent us the speaker of the house a letter before they did the big beautiful bill and it came out of committee.

[00:17:41]>> Right.

[00:17:41]>> Right. Be before that happened, she wrote an open letter to the speaker of the house, Mike Johnson, and said, "Please don't cut this because you're going to hurt my constituents. I'm in a I'm in an area that really relies on this." And four days later, guess what she did?

[00:17:55]>> She voted for it.

[00:17:56]>> Yep.

[00:17:56]>> She's She's never She's never done a town hall ever. Zero. Right. She didn't used to wear She didn't used to wear a cowboy hat and jeans and boots. Now all of a sudden she's looking like she's, you know, from a from a ye a yee-haw session or whatever.

[00:18:13]But but but but you know, look, there's she's scared as she should be because because at the end of the day, she's not c she's not culturally connected to this area. The people really she can't understand them.

[00:18:28]She doesn't get down in there with them.

[00:18:30]And and she's never done a town hall.

[00:18:32]She's never answered questions for the votes that she's taken. She's been nothing but a rubber stamp on the Trump administration. She that's exactly what has happened when you know she doesn't even have to get whipped. Like literally there's other people that have gone out there and whipped. So she'll vote for this big beautiful bill that funded ICE more money than the Marines literally.

[00:18:53]And then she'll say like, "Oh, I came up with a Brasacetto 2.0 which is just has one other co-sponsor has gotten zero traction just to try to save her ass."

[00:19:02]and say, "I did something."

[00:19:04]>> Never pass Mike Johnson's house. Right.

[00:19:06]>> Absolutely not. But she's just trying to say, "Look, I took the vote that hurt you, but now I want to help you by by trying to present a bill that nobody cares about." Right. And and and so everything that she's done has been really disingenuous. And and if there's any the biggest problem I think we have in politics is that people just don't trust anybody anymore because politicians are a bunch of lying, you know, deceiving people. And I don't think that's >> like like look at at at at the end of the day >> you can't you you you can't run away from your voting record and she voted for that.

[00:19:40]>> It would be one thing if the economy right now was booming if it was just exploding right now but it's it so many people are hurting so much and you know we're seeing in farm communities especially the like the fact that they've cut SNAP benefits down to to to where they have is really hurting working families in these areas. It's really hurting people who are not laying around on the couch every day. They're busting their ass every day. They're working 60 hours a week and they still can't feed their kids.

[00:20:09]>> And I I I can't imagine how she gets up in the morning and says, "I'm really proud of this vote."

[00:20:14]>> I She doesn't, but she's basically just does whatever they tell her. And And look, we need leadership down here. We need we need people that that are bold and willing to take a stand and say, "I'm not going to vote for that because my district is not Listen, a lot of the Republican and conservativeleaning voters in the real Grand Valley are doctors and our people in the healthcare community. And when you vote to cut Medicare and Medicaid, >> right? And and this is the discussion that I always tell them. I I said your bottom line gets hurt more than the two or 3% tax difference between a Republican president and a Democratic president. So your bottom line is you're making less money and then and then it and then it trickles down where there's less money for the realies of for investing people to buy properties and homes and restaurants. And so it basically paralyzes our economy. And that's exactly what we're seeing right now. So I have lots of people, lots of friends that were Republican voters that said, "Hey man, this ain't cool." Like we're ready to go the other way because we thought that, you know, Republicans are always the best marketers and the best salesmen. They're absolutely good at that, right? And and as Democrats, we're terrible at that, right? And so they'll they'll lead everybody to say like, "We're better for the economy."

[00:21:35]I'm like, "No, you're not. you're absolutely not better for the economy.

[00:21:39]And so, so I just think we have to make a better economic argument. Um, as me as a Democrat, I am a conservative Democrat. I'm a blue dog. Um, I think the majority I think a large percentage of the people down here are culturally conservative, but we're very respectful of other people. We're not We don't hate on on anybody in the LGBTQ community. We don't believe in anybody being discriminated against, right? We're good-hearted people, but we're conservative. We're, you know, if you go to a a house here in the real Grand Valley, the odds are you're going to see a a a cross on the wall. I mean, we're very based on faith, very religious. Uh, but we help each other out, Rick. And I and I would make the argument to all the people like our heart is Democrat, >> right? Our our our pocketbooks had become more Republican because people say, "Oh, you know, the only party really has been talking about an economy was were the Republicans when they say, we'll cut your taxes." But I think as a Democrat, we have to also talk about economic opportunities and and and and also about what we can do economically, right? And we haven't done that enough.

[00:22:45]>> You know, that's such a good point. And you and you mentioned the the the rarest creature in politics these days, the blue dog Democrat, >> which I have I have told my Democratic friends in Washington and and elsewhere for years now. If you get blue dogs back in the game, you can take seats in the south all over the place, even with this terrible redistricting they're all doing because there are a lot of people here who have, as you said, they're good-hearted people. They they they're they may not be as as economically liberal as some people, but they are in they're they they connect better to the communities across the South and and not just in the south uh but but the southwest as well. you know, not, you know, Texas is sort of that transitional state. It's southern, it's southwestern, it's a lot of things. Um, >> it's Midwestern in places, but all of it, I think, I think you really touched on something important there. It's like you're not you're not disconnected from the values of these people in your district. You're you this is something you've lived. You you you come from it genuinely. I think that's why, you know, you're getting a lot of support and I think that's great that uh right now that that the House Majority Pack is going to come in there big time. Um they view this as a great pickup seat and I think they're exactly right for once. Um and and and you're doing well as a campaign, but I want to before we start wrapping up today, I want to make sure people can uh know where to reach you online, where they where to get to your campaign and how they can help support your campaign.

[00:24:15]We're on act blue and you can also go on bobby pledo for Texas um and.com and and the link is there. Uh you know >> like I told you we're the lowest per capita income in the state. So So we don't have a lot of money in this district. So we have to really rely on out of district to be able to fundra.

[00:24:36]You know I don't live in New York or you know Chicago where there's where there's a lot of donors. Um, but right, you know, I just want to do right by the people and and especially now we're at a very trying time where and and I tell my my friends that are conservative here and we get along really well. I tell them, "Look, man, I am a blue dog Democrat. You're a Republican. You're a conservative Republican. But right now, I think we can both agree that if we do not bring some balance to the House of Representatives, we are going to be in a shitload of trouble because because this administration has has shown how shameful they are at every single level >> and how they've kind of held everybody else to that same shamelessness standard that they expect everybody else to be just as as shameful. And and look, I will work with anybody. I've said that.

[00:25:27]I said, you know, we're not that far off. We want the same things.

[00:25:31]>> If somebody's really diehard MAGA, that's kind of hard to get to crack that nook because because that's I and I tell them that's not that's not conservatism, >> right? That is that is populism, right?

[00:25:45]That and and so don't confuse that with being conservative, right? Texas was always great because Democrats and and Republicans both had a seat at the table at the state legislature, but when MAGA came in, they brought in this FU to the other side to say, "We don't care what you say." And I think that's hurtful to our democracy. I think it's hurtful to our political discourse. And it's really really not really about all these policy differences that we have. It's about the fundamental approach that we have to disrespecting people that aren't in our party. And I think that, >> you know, >> I want to get back Yeah. I want to get back to that to that same I listen if somebody's conservative and they say, "Hey, we need to, you know, we need to do this or this." I think they bring some interesting I don't think one party has all the answers. I think both parties have the answers. And, you know, it's the United States. We got to work together.

[00:26:40]>> 100% man. And you know, you look at I I say this a lot. make some of my Democratic friends angry. I don't like one party control states on either side, they always get corrupt in their own unique way. And and when you've got two dynamic parties that can get that can argue, you know, as as in good faith, >> you get much better outcomes. You get much better results um for the people absolutely out in the world and and and for the states and for their economies and everything else.

[00:27:09]>> And it's one of the reasons I'm really excited to watch your campaign, man. I really am. I think I think you've got a I think you got a great style and a great presence on the on the on the trail and um and I think you've got a really amazing shot this year, Bobby.

[00:27:23]So, I'm super grateful you came on the show today >> and I I want to keep in touch. Well, let's do this again before the campaign season ends. Okay? Want to check in again and make sure you're uh you're doing great. So, check out Bobby Putoforex.com. Follow Bobby on all the socials. Um, this is a really exciting campaign, folks, and it's one of the campaigns we're following super closely here at Lincoln and uh we're looking forward to uh to to to watching how this the rest of the year turns out there for you and uh we wish you all the best.

[00:27:53]Thank you so much, Bobby. Really appreciate it.

[00:27:55]>> Thank you, Rick. Appreciate it.

[00:27:56]>> I am super excited to be joined today by James Tarico, who is a newlyannounced candidate for the United States Senate in the great state of Texas. He is a a communicator and a legislator and a leader uh of a form that I think a lot of people didn't believe the Democrats still had in him. He goes where places Democrats fear to tread and that is talking to working folks, talking to folks, people of fate, talking to folks across the political spectrum.

[00:28:22]>> The biggest divide in our country is not left versus right, it's top versus bottom.

[00:28:29]Billionaires want us looking left and right at each other so that we're not looking up at them.

[00:28:37]>> The people at the top work so hard to keep us angry and divided because our unity is a threat to their wealth and their power.

[00:28:49]>> So their social media algorithms and their cable news networks tear us apart.

[00:28:54]They divide us by party, by race, by gender, by religion, so that we don't notice that they're defunding our schools, gutting our health care, and cutting taxes for themselves and their rich friends.

[00:29:09]>> It is the oldest strategy in the world.

[00:29:12]Divide and conquer.

[00:29:15]But we will not be conquered.

[00:29:22]We're underdogs in this fight. We're going up against those billionaire mega donors and their puppet politicians.

[00:29:29]We're going up against a rigged system and we're going up against a lot of money. But I'm a former middle school teacher. I don't scare easily.

[00:29:41]And Texans don't scare easily.

[00:29:49]My my granddad was a Baptist preacher in South Texas. He taught me that we follow a barefoot rabbi who gave two commandments. Love God and love neighbor. Because there is no love of God without love of neighbor.

[00:30:11]Every single person bears the image of the sacred. Every single person is holy.

[00:30:20]Not just my neighbors who look like me or pray like me or vote like me. Those billionaires are trying to keep us from seeing all that we have in common.

[00:30:32]They're trying to keep us from realizing that there is far more that unites us than divides us. Because once we do, we will come together across party, across race, across gender, across religion to take power back for ourselves and our communities.

[00:30:56]2,000 years ago, when the powerful few rigged the system, that barefoot rabbi walked into the seat of power and flipped over the tables of injustice.

[00:31:08]To those who love this state, to those who love this country, to those who love our neighbors, it's time to start flipping tables.

[00:31:21]James, first off, welcome to the Lincoln Project podcast. Thank you so much for coming on. Um, I want to just ask you right off the bat, why are you the guy to take on either Cornin or Paxton, depending on how that shakes out and the and the sort of Republican National Committee or Senate Committee war machine in this election?

[00:31:42]>> Well, thank you for having me. I am a huge fan of the work that y'all do. And uh I decided to get in this race because I firmly believe that all 30 million Texans deserve a US senator who's going to represent their interests and not the interests of billionaire mega donors.

[00:31:59]And Ken Paxton and John Cornin have both forfeited the right to be the senator from this great state. They're both uh more interested in serving their mega donors and serving the people of Texas.

[00:32:13]And I think the country is looking for a reset from the Democratic party. So I I hope to provide um a new kind of uh of of message uh a new kind of campaign that people can believe in. Again, uh we desperately need that in this state and in this country at this critical moment.

[00:32:33]When when you came across my radar screen the first time, I was very impressed because you were not ashamed of your faith. You were not hiding it.

[00:32:40]um you would go to talk to working folks where they were not going into into these conversations defensively, but rather um w with a with a very open heart to talk to people who might not um consider themselves Democrats, might not consider themselves uh anything but conservatives, but you won over people even in your state work who were were who I think understood right away that you were somebody who would and meet them where they were to talk things through. How do you scale that up in a race in a state as big as Texas with the stakes as high as they will be with with having to go out and and and address 30 million people instead of the folks in a legislative district, >> right? It's it's not going to be easy and I'm going to need a lot of people's help. I I cannot do this alone. And I I think just in the first 24 hours of this campaign, we have seen an overwhelming response from people across Texas and frankly across the country.

[00:33:39]>> It has been a few years since Texas Democrats have turned out like this.

[00:33:44]A thousand or so people in Roundrock Tuesday evening to see James Terico launch his campaign for US Senate, a self-described underdog in his race against Colin Redd to be the Democratic nominee and then take on either John Cornin or Ken Paxton.

[00:34:01]>> It brings an injection of excitement, you know, and that's good for the Democratic party, that's good for the Democratic primary, that's ultimately good for Texas. This morning, Terico says his campaign has already raised more than a million dollars from small dollar donors. But in the first 12 to 24 hours of his campaign, which shows momentum, >> folks have signed up to volunteers. I've been so blown away by the number of volunteer signups we've gotten. So, I think people are ready to to do something. They're ready to join a campaign that that's different from all the other campaigns we've seen in recent years. Uh, and it feels like people are starved of hope and of optimism. And if we can provide that to people, I think we can pull something together that will change the politics of this state and of this country. And and Rick, you know this, but I I did this when I first got elected. I flipped a Trump district that no one thought was winnable.

[00:34:54]>> A fresh face to politics is already making waves in central Texas. He flipped a seat in the Texas House from red to blue. On top of that, he is the youngest member of the Texas legislature. K view political reporter Ashley Gdau is here. And Ashley, we're talking about James Taler Rico.

[00:35:10]>> That's right, Mike. The young Democrat was sworn into office this afternoon.

[00:35:16]>> I, James Tarico, >> do solemnly swear >> Do solemnly swear >> that I will faithfully execute the duties >> that I will faithfully execute the duties >> of the Office of Representative District 52.

[00:35:27]>> of the Office of Representative District 52.

[00:35:30]Terrio took that oath of office today instead of in January when the rest of the freshman class will because he's filling the seat vacated by Representative Larry Gonzalez. You'll recall Gonzalez resigned in June after serving for seven years. Now, Telerico is a former public school teacher. He wants to use his experience to help fix the school finance system. And he delivered a strong message at today's ceremony.

[00:35:55]The current political landscape is too small for Texas. Far too small. Our politics are narrow-minded and short-sighted.

[00:36:06]With every border wall, with every bathroom bill, we degrade our reputation and we dishonor our legacy.

[00:36:15]>> Now, I sat down with the 29year-old after his swearing in. He says lawmakers need to focus on policies to help make Texas schools, the economy, and families stronger.

[00:36:26]>> I was told it was impossible, just like I'm being told this is impossible, but uh I I my life has shown me that you should always bet on the underdogs, and this is certainly going to be an underdog fight in this election. Yes, it is a red state in many many ways, but it has a much larger workingclass vote out there. both both in the in the metro areas and in rural areas that have not really been served by the fact that you know either a Ken Paxton or a John Cornin h has a very small constituency and those folks have actually been on kind of on the uh especially I think in the last year or two uh or the last year um especially in the rural and the agricultural community they're really getting stuck hard that's right by policies that aren't meant for them but are meant for the folks who can write a billion dollar super PAC check.

[00:37:15]>> That's exactly right. We we we've gotten this reputation as a state for for being deep red and and that's not really borne out by the data. I mean, we uh we're much more of a pink state than we are a red state. Um you know, I remember growing up here, Democratic candidates would lose by 25 30 points.

[00:37:33]>> And now consistently, these statewide races are singledigit races. And so the trend line is is unmistakable. Um our elections are getting much more competitive in Texas. And my party obviously likes to talk about turning Texas blue and Republicans talk about keeping Texas red. I think the best color for Texas is purple. I think she would look great in purple because as you said when there's competitive elections, when politicians are on their toes, they serve the people that they're supposed to be representing. They compete for every vote and they they pass policies that are designed to appeal to the largest number of Texans.

[00:38:09]And that's good for the people of this state. uh both people in urban and suburban areas, but also particularly for people in small towns around Texas where you've seen rural hospitals close at an alarming rate. You've seen local public schools >> closing because these these billionaire mega donors have been pushing a private school voucher scam in our state and shutting down the the neighborhood schools in these small towns and therefore shutting down Friday Night Lights, which is a way that we bring people together in in an age when so many of us are being torn apart. So yeah, I there's so much on the line and I think a competitive race and and more competitive elections will lead to better policies for the people of Texas.

[00:38:50]>> You know, I I think that that you know, folks, Trump won Texas by 53%. It was not a wipe out, you know, absolute nuclear bomb considering this is a cons a bastion state for the Republicans. So, uh, you know, you have two Republicans, uh, John Cornin, who I've, you know, known a long time, who sort of transformed himself from a traditional Bush style Republican into a guy who does what Trump wants.

[00:39:17]>> Um, and you've got Ken Paxton, who is who is in in any just world would not be in an elected office, but would rather be picking up trash by the side of the road wearing an orange vest. He's been he's been, you know, impeached. He's gotten his way bought his way out of it a couple times.

[00:39:33]>> To pinpoint the one thing that led Texas Republicans to impeach their own attorney general, you need only go back a few months when Kent Paxton asked state lawmakers to pay $3.3 million so he could settle a lawsuit brought by former employees of his who blew the whistle on him.

[00:39:53]>> I'm just trying to get some clarity. Is the case against the state of Texas or is it against General Paxton?

[00:39:58]>> Really, the whole thing comes down to having Texas pick up the bill for, you know, uh, firing the whistleblowers.

[00:40:07]>> So, Paxton asks for taxpayer money to be spent on his own legal settlement.

[00:40:11]>> If this legislative body does not vote to pay that, then what would be the next steps? What will happen then?

[00:40:19]>> House Republicans refuse and quietly open an investigation into the attorney general.

[00:40:26]the result of the legislaturator's investigation. That is what led to the 20 articles of impeachment. But let's back up here and put the pieces of this puzzle together. It mainly centers around one of Paxton's many political donors, a man named Nate Paul.

[00:40:45]Prosecutors say Paxton went out of his way to help Paul, did things for him as attorney general that benefited Paul, not taxpayers.

[00:40:53]things such as blocking public information requests to protect Nate Paul's records in the Texas Department of Public Safety, writing an official legal opinion as attorney general to protect Nate Paul's properties from foreclosure, and appointing a special prosecutor, among other things, to investigate issues for Nate Paul. What in the world do you think Kin Paxton saw in Nate Paul? Look, he clearly should have had better judgment about Nate Paul. Obviously, he's facing very serious problems right now. There was chatter and I think doubt about his business empire, how quickly he emerged as a major player, really kind of out of nowhere and the way he was operating, uh, his flashy lifestyle. So, I do think he probably showed some poor judgment there and perhaps, you know, trusting Nate Paul's word as much as he did. When Paxton's top staff, his own deputies that he handpicked, finally blew the whistle on him, Paxton fired that group, they sued and Paxton agreed to settle the lawsuit.

[00:41:58]Problem is, he asked the state legislature to pay that settlement. $3.3 million of taxpayer money.

[00:42:07]>> He wants Texas to eat the money. I'm sorry, but unless Ken Paxton reimbures the state of Texas for what his actions cost us, then he's dead to me. I'm sorry. It's that simple.

[00:42:21]>> David Leath is a Republican precinct chair in Colin County. One of the guests on this week's episode of Yolitics and evidence of the sharp division among Texas Republicans.

[00:42:32]Paxton denies he did anything wrong and grassroots Republicans still support Paxton. They disregard the impeachment trial. Traditional conservatives though say, "Let this rare process play out."

[00:42:46]You've got two candidates there, both of whom have some really unsympathetic nature. How do you look at that race?

[00:42:52]Which one do you think is going to emerge from that? I'm going to put you on the spot a little bit. Which one do you think is going to win that primary?

[00:42:57]And who do you want to run against?

[00:43:00]I honestly would relish the opportunity to prosecute the case against either Ken Paxton or John Cornin. You know, I was a part of that that bipartisan majority in the Texas legislature that impeached Ken Paxton. And you're right, his billionaire mega donors paid our lieutenant governor $3 million, literally a check for $3 million to get him off the hook.

[00:43:21]>> I'm very familiar was what it was. I'm very familiar with his crimes and and his corruption and and would welcome the opportunity to make that case to the people of my state. But we oftentimes think of corruption as just involving money or involving involving something illegal, >> but that's not the case. And John Cornin is a perfect example of that because John Cornin was the deciding vote on that big ugly bill that will kick millions of Texans off their healthcare.

[00:43:49]It'll literally take food out of the mouths of hungry Texas kids, all to fund tax breaks for John Cornin's donors.

[00:43:57]>> The Senate barely passed a spending and tax bill that would add trillions to the national debt. Kins 5 reporter Zach Briggs breaks down the potential impacts on lowincome Texans.

[00:44:11]San Antonio Food Bank CEO Eric Cooper has been keeping extra busy in Washington, pushing lawmakers to reconsider historic spending cuts to SNAP.

[00:44:21]>> Just begging, right, that they make a decision to help families put food on the table.

[00:44:28]>> The so-called big beautiful bill includes more than $4 trillion in tax cuts. To help fill the gap, the federal food assistance program would be slashed by more than 180 billion dollars. States would be required to foot the bill for a portion of SNAP benefits. Policy changes would also expand eligibility requirements, in turn, potentially limiting access to SNAP.

[00:44:52]>> It is the biggest betrayal of services to those that are vulnerable that I've ever seen in my 32-year career. We're literally taking money from the poor and giving it to the rich. It is the opposite of Robin Hood. The Senate's bill, now being debated in the House, proposes reducing Medicaid spending by nearly a trillion dollars. This could jeopardize healthcare access to more than a million Texans.

[00:45:22]>> Between 1.6 to 1.8 million people, Medicaid cuts alone, the potential for 15 or more rural hospitals closed, which means you're now limiting health access.

[00:45:31]Corruption is the betrayal of the public trust. It is the the use of a public office to uh enrich uh the people who are funding your campaigns. And that's exactly what John Cornin did on the on the largest scale. I mean, that is corruption of the highest order. And so, I I look forward to to making the case against either one of those um two Republican candidates, and I'm hope I give the opportunity as the Democratic nominee to do so. You know, I I have always admired the way you've approached public life and public service with sort of uh the centrality of compassion and of connection and of faith.

[00:46:05]>> There is something broken in America.

[00:46:10]>> Our economy is broken.

[00:46:12]>> Our political system is broken.

[00:46:15]>> Even our relationships with each other feel broken.

[00:46:20]That's because the most powerful people in the world want it that way.

[00:46:25]My faith teaches me to love my neighbor as myself.

[00:46:30]>> Not just not just my neighbor who looks like me or prays like me or votes like me.

[00:46:40]>> I am called to love all of my neighbors like I love myself. Because despite our differences, we all want the same things. A safe neighborhood, >> a good job, >> a quality, well-funded public school, >> and the ability to see a doctor when we need one.

[00:47:08]But the billionaires who own the social media algorithms, who own the cable news networks, who own the politicians fighting on our screens, they want us at each other's throats. They want us focused on how we're different instead of on how we're the same.

[00:47:28]>> I am tired of being pitted against my neighborhood.

[00:47:33]I am tired of being told to hate my neighbor. It's been more than 10 years of this kind of politics.

[00:47:44]Politics as blood sport, politics as professional wrestling.

[00:47:51]It tears families apart. It ends friendships. And it leaves us all feeling terrible all of the time.

[00:48:00]There is a deep hunger in this state and in this country for a different kind of politics.

[00:48:13]>> Not not a politics of hate, not a politics of tribes, not a politics of division, but a politics of love. a love that can heal what's broken in America.

[00:48:30]>> How do you keep in this campaign uh how do you how do you keep those things in the foreground when they're going to come at you with every bit of the culture war noise and garbage and and ugliness because they that they they don't have a lot more in the in the hopper anymore uh in terms of of affirmative messaging. It's always down, it always resolves down to the culture war at long last. How do you stay out of that minefield?

[00:48:58]>> Well, I've always had two simple rules for political communications. Sometimes we overthink this stuff. My two rules are be yourself and tell the truth.

[00:49:08]>> And I've found a lot of success with doing those two simple things.

[00:49:12]>> So, my faith is central to who I am.

[00:49:14]It's why I'm in public service. Not just in elected office. I started my public service career as a middle school teacher on the west side of San Antonio.

[00:49:23]And I signed up to do that difficult job because I am called to love my neighbors, especially the least of these.

[00:49:30]>> And and so I'm not going to shy away from that part of my life. I have to be who I am. Whether that rubs people the wrong way and my own party uh or um or causes people to be upset on the other side, I've got to be honest about why I'm in this and and why I'm why I'm running.

[00:49:45]>> Um that said, I'm very cognizant of how Organized religion has hurt a lot of people and people have a lot of religious trauma, religious baggage and I want to be sensitive to that and I try to be very inclusive in how I talk about this to include other faiths to include my agnostic and atheist friends because at the end of the day there are a lot of agnostics and atheists who are more Christlike than Christian politicians in this country. Uh, but to to your second question, I'm gonna tell the truth about why these culture wars are at the front of our national conversation.

[00:50:18]>> I think it's interesting. I I've been in this race for 5 days and I've had a lot of interviews with national media. No one's ever asked me about the cost of housing. No one's asked me about the cost of prescription drugs. No one's asked me about the cost of child care.

[00:50:32]The only thing the media wants to ask me about are trans athletes. And so what I would say is that the only minority destroying this country is the billionaires. Trans people are 1% of the population. Undocumented people are 1% of the population. Muslims are 1% of the population. We are all focused on the wrong 1%. Trans people aren't taking away our healthcare. Uh undocumented people aren't defunding our schools.

[00:50:58]Muslims aren't cutting taxes for themselves and their rich friends. It's the billionaires and their puppet politicians. And so we need not only the media but all of us to focus on the real problem at hand.

[00:51:10]>> The the very powerful people, the billionaires who control our social media algorithms, who control the cable news networks, who control the politicians who are fighting on our screens. They want us to be at each other's throats. They want us focused on how we're different instead of on how we're the same, which I believe we're all much more the same than we are different at the end of the day.

[00:51:31]>> And so I'm going to call that out. I believe in treating voters like they're adults. I I believe in shooting straight with them and I think they are sophisticated enough to understand how they're being played. And so I'm going to be very honest about that. I started in our launch video talking about how we're being divided by the people at the top and I'm going to continue to call that out when they try to push uh cultural war fights on all of us.

[00:51:54]I think that I think that's as a as an ex-political guy or an ex-political strategist guy. I think that is exactly the right path is you've got to reframe this and not let it become the the sort of toddy trick that they're that they they look they used it very effectively against many Democratic candidates and against Vice President Harris in 2024.

[00:52:16]Y they they use that very effectively.

[00:52:18]So I think you're taking the right approach there.

[00:52:20]>> There have been a lot of shifts in the Hispanic population in Texas. Um, and you know, the the the Rio Grand Valley was something that for a long time the Republicans looked at with some jealousy. They managed to move a lot more votes down there um than they did in previous elections. How does that factor into your calculus statewide about talking to folks in the rear Grand Valley who tend to be for for those of us for those of y'all who aren't familiar with it? It tends to be a much more Hispanic area, first and second generation immigrants. Uh high religiosity, many many Catholics, many Pentecostals. Um how do you work with those folks down there to to stop this erosion, the slide that's been going on with because the culture war has been affected with a lot of those voters?

[00:53:05]Well, my family is from South Texas. Um, and so I know the area like the back of my hand, and I'm going to spend a lot of time in South Texas in this campaign.

[00:53:14]Um, we're going to be heading down there next week, actually. Um, >> just to show that we are are putting a priority on this this region of the state >> because, you know, when I was a a middle school teacher, I learned very early how to take responsibility. You know, if if my kids in my classroom were misbehaving or if they weren't learning, it wasn't their fault, their kids. It was the it was my fault as their teacher and I take that into politics because oftentimes people in our party like to complain um that you know voters have moved away from us. That's not the voters's fault.

[00:53:45]Uh that is our fault as a party. If we are not speaking to their needs, if we are not providing a vision that they can see themselves in and can buy into, >> then that's on us. And so again, I'm not the the I don't think South Texas has changed. I think the Democratic party has changed and we are no longer speaking to their needs and their aspirations and I hope that this campaign can start to change that.

[00:54:09]>> You know, I think one of the things you have a real opportunity space on and I've written about this a lot over the years is that one of the things Republicans did to take power in various states, Florida, Texas, is they let people in the in districts be right for the district or be right for the state. They didn't say you have to come down and and meet this set of four or five criteria from the national party or from this group or that group.

[00:54:35]>> I think you I think you're getting to the point where where and it's really really smart is that it's not you're not a cookie cutter Democrat. You're not a standard issue Democrat. You're a Texas guy who's going to go out, you know, run on the Democratic party line, but but represent people first as a Texan.

[00:54:52]>> That's right. I I I am proud to be a Texas Democrat. Uh, I'm proud to be a part of a political party that still has principles, that still has a vision for how we can fix this democracy to make it work for regular people. But I already have a religion and I already have a sports team. I I am the only reason I'm a part of this party is because I want to win political power to make people's lives better. And if the Democratic Party is not doing that, I'm going to call it out and I'm going to share hard truths so that we can get back on track and achieve the purpose of a political party. And I I think for too long people have have treated the party as something other than that. And um and they force people into these boxes. If you want a small insular pure group, then you should start a social club. But a political party has to be a big tent.

[00:55:40]It's got to be a coalition of people who don't agree on everything or don't come from the same backgrounds, don't come from the same perspectives. Um politics is about addition and not subtraction.

[00:55:48]If we hope to win elections again, >> I think I think that's right. And I think I think that this is something that national Democrats running in any place in this country should be thinking about that like how am I a Florida Democrat or a Oklahoma Democrat or a Nevada Democrat? How am I >> like state before party, country before, you know? Yes.

[00:56:10]>> It it just like scaling up the pyramid of connection to this is not the way to do it. It's scaling down to the local area. And what a beautiful thing if if our party is a mosaic of all kinds of Democrats from all different walks of life. I mean, that's that's what the Democratic Party used to be when we had a supermajority in this country in the New Deal era or in the Great Society era when a last time a Texas Democrat led led our party. You know, that those were 60% majorities. We we should not be in a position where we're um within a couple percentage points of Donald Trump. We we shouldn't be even close to that. I I'm not interested in winning 51%. I'm interested in building a big enough majority in this country that can transform this democracy so it can actually work for people. Again, >> you know, we talked a little bit in the beginning about the the the the negative power of corruption and the and I I I've always said that corruption is kind of a killer app in a year where people need and feel the urgency of reform. And I think I think it's finally starting to connect with a lot of voters that the corruption in state houses around this country and in Washington DC um is the source of their pain. Um when you started to think about this campaign, uh have you tal have you been hearing that out there in the stump? I I heard from some folks recently in in another in a Midwestern state who said they had come out of the field and that people were finally starting to connect.

[00:57:41]>> Oh, these lobbyists get their way, >> right?

[00:57:44]>> But it has to but it's coming out of us.

[00:57:46]>> Exactly. Again, this is this is back to treating voters like adults and not condescending to them. Um because people are smart. Um people people can understand a lot uh if you give if you give them a chance. Um, and so often times political consultants will be like, don't don't talk about process.

[00:58:04]Um, you know, focus on kitchen table issues, whatever that means. And I I've found um, you know, in in my community that people are are very open to understanding how this system is selling them out on a whole host of issues. And so I've tried to shoot straight with them that the reason we can't make progress on housing or on health care or on education or on the economy is because we have a broken political system that doesn't serve the interests of the people. And and so getting to the core of the problem, getting to the heart of the matter, I think is essential. One, because it's true, and two, because we have to build a coalition big enough to change and transform that broken, corrupt political system if we hope to make people's lives easier and better.

[00:58:50]>> Well, James Terrio, tell uh everybody where they can find out more information about you and your campaign. Um, give them all the social media stuff that we got to do to make to get the word out.

[00:59:01]>> Well, you can find me on all the platforms, James Talerico. Um, and then you can go to jameshameserico.com.

[00:59:07]You can sign up to donate. Uh, you can also sign up to volunteer. Even if you don't live in Texas, we will put you to work. And so, if you want to be about um, a part of a campaign that you can feel good about and feel proud of and a campaign that may be the difference between having a majority in the United States Senate and not, then please join us as soon as you can.

[00:59:27]>> Yeah, I think that is so important to remember, folks. This is a race the NRSC did not see coming. That's right.

[00:59:34]>> They were sitting fat, dumb, and happy and they sort of shrugged it off and said, "Oh, well, it'll be corner packs and whatever." And I I can tell you this this this news has hit them like a lightning bolt. And so, James Taler Rico, I wish you all the very best.

[00:59:48]Let's have you back on the program as this campaign goes on. Thank you so much for taking the time to come on the Lincoln Project podcast today.

[00:59:53]>> Thanks, Rick. Appreciate it.

[01:00:07]Good night and good luck.