Democrat James Talarico turns to fútbol, seizes on World Cup fever as he courts Latinos

WASHINGTON - Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico has a new campaign strategy: fútbol.

Talarico, a state lawmaker from Austin, Texas, released a new Spanish language ad Thursday that blends soccer themes with images from the campaign trail.

The ad's narrator says Talarico is working to defend Social Security and Medicare, improve education and make billionaires pay their "fair share" of taxes, according to a script in English.

"Talarico's shown he has the grit and determination...but he's still depending on your vote," the narrator says in Spanish. "And just like that, we'll all be yelling: ¡Talaricooooooooo!"

Talarico faces Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton on the November ballot.

The Talarico campaign said the "six-figure statewide TV buy" will air on Telemundo starting Thursday during Mexico's opening World Cup game against South Africa.

The ad will run during every group stage game played by the U.S. and Mexico national teams.

Latino voters shifted significantly toward Republicans in the 2024 election, nationally and in Texas.

Republican Sen. Ted Cruz credited the shift, particularly among voters who live in areas near the U.S.-Mexico border, with helping him win reelection by a significantly larger margin than he did in 2018.

The last time Democrats won a Senate seat in Texas was 1988. Key to reversing that trend is winning back Latino voters who flipped to Republicans in the last election.

Democrats say Republicans are taking the shift for granted and ignoring economic concerns of Latino voters such as struggles with rising prices.

Paxton adviser Nick Maddux said the attorney general has a record of standing up for Latinos. "We look forward to sharing his message and communicating the important work he's done," Maddux said.

He added the campaign will continue to highlight Talarico's "extreme and out-of-touch record" on taxes, religion and transgender issues.

Paxton allies have stepped up their attacks Talarico as well, portraying him as too liberal for the state.

The Daily Caller reported this week that a Trump-aligned group, Citizens for Sanity, launched a "six-figure ad campaign" against Talarico featuring an AI-generated version of the Democrat as Maria from The Sound of Music.

The deepfake version of Talarico sings altered lyrics, including references to transgender issues.

Talarico has said some of his previous statements were intentionally provocative and at times cringeworthy, but accused Republicans of focusing on them to distract from Paxton's legal and ethical troubles.

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This story was originally published June 11, 2026 at 6:44 PM.