State Rep. James Talarico (D-TX), who opened his Senate campaign in Texas by criticizing the influence of the uber wealthy on politics, has since turned to them for cash to fuel his congressional bid, public records show.
“I have denounced billionaire influence in both political parties,” Talarico said during the opening days of his campaign. “I am out here calling out billionaire megadonors regardless of what side of the aisle they’re on because they have way too much influence in our politics.”
Talarico leaned into this theme on the campaign trail, bragging about having “never taken a dime of corporate PAC money” and promising to work toward banning super PACs if elected to Congress.
Despite this high-minded rhetoric, Talarico has benefited from reams of cash from corporate lobbyists, billionaires, and business executives who have flooded Texas on his behalf.
Talarico’s most direct link to the corporate interests he claims to oppose has come in the form of large sums of cash donations from lobbyists representing major corporations.
Almost immediately after Talarico secured the Democratic nomination in the Texas Senate race by running on an anti-establishment platform, lobbyists in Washington, D.C., got together to raise money for his general election campaign, according to an invitation obtained by Politico. Suggested donations for the event started at $250, and in order to snag a spot on the host committee, lobbyists had to pony up at least $3,500.
A Washington Examiner review of lobbying disclosures found that lobbyists representing blue-chip firms such as Intel, Meta, PayPal, TikTok, JP Morgan, Kellogg Company, Walgreens, Pfizer, Regeneron, and FedEx — among many others — collectively donated tens of thousands of dollars to Talarico’s campaign through this event.
Campaign finance records reveal that Talarico accepted thousands of dollars more from lobbyists representing Toyota, Home Depot, RTX, DraftKings, Airbus, Airbnb, Anduril, Google, Dell, Northwestern Mutual, State Farm, and a host of other massive corporations.
Talarico is so adamantly opposed to undue corporate influence, he insists, that he refuses to take money from corporate PACs, a promise that records indicate he has kept. Corporate PACs, however, are funded by senior employees at large companies — a demographic that Talarico has no problem taking money from.
The prospective Democratic senator, for instance, accepted $3,500 from the CEO of Hunt Consolidated — one of the largest privately held companies in the country.
Hunt Consolidated specializes in oil and gas production. Talarico has criticized his Republican colleagues in the Texas state legislature for allegedly being in the pockets of the petroleum industry.
Executives from large companies such as Kaiser Permanente, Assembled Brands, Ben and Jerry’s, Montage International, Seabury Capital, Amegy Bank, Moelis & Company, and IntraFi contributed tens of thousands of dollars more to Talarico.
Billionaires, another target of Talirco’s ire, have also cut checks to support his bid for Senate.
“If there are billionaires who believe they should be taxed more and their outsized political influence should be limited, they are welcome in this movement,” a Talarico spokesman said.
Laura and John Arnold, an activist billionaire couple, gave $7,000 to Talarico’s campaign. Billionaires such as LinkedIn cofounder Reid Hoffman, hedge fund manager Stephen Mandel, and investor Mark Heising donated well over $1 million to Lone Star Rising PAC, the super PAC supporting Talarico’s campaign.
Lone Star Rising PAC received a considerable amount of its income from Government that Works PAC, a committee funded virtually entirely by 501(c)(4) nonprofit groups. 501(c)(4) organizations can take corporate funds without public disclosure, making it possible that corporate funds may have been used to support Talarico’s campaign.
Super PACs and campaign committees are prohibited by law from coordinating with each other.
“James is proud to be the only candidate in this race not taking a dime of corporate PAC money, shattering grassroots fundraising records with the help of hundreds of thousands of small dollar contributors — unlike John Cornyn and Ken Paxton, who have raked in millions of dollars from special interests and fought to enrich their billionaire donors while working Texans struggle,” a Talarico spokesman told the Washington Examiner. “Our people-powered movement is going to change this broken political system by defeating corrupt politicians like John Cornyn and Ken Paxton this November.”
The Talarico campaign cited data indicating that the vast majority of its revenue has come from donations under $100 and that teachers are the most common occupation among its donors.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R-TX), the two men vying for the GOP’s Texas Senate nomination, have both benefited from large sums of money from deep-pocketed special interests, though neither man built their campaign on opposing the billionaire class.
While Talarico may posture as not being influenced by corporate interests, despite taking their money, critics have pointed to his relationship with the gambling industry as an example of him acting on behalf of an industry that provides him with patronage.
Talarico’s state campaign committee received a total of $59,000 from the Texas Sands PAC in 2024, a committee funded by casino mogul Miriam Adelson, Politico reported. Talarico has been an ardent supporter of expanding legal gambling during his tenure in the Texas legislature. Lobbyists for DraftKings and the American Gaming Association have contributed to his Senate bid.
Some have argued that there is an apparent disconnect between the Christian messaging that Talarico has leaned so heavily into and his warmth toward what many view as a predatory industry.
DEMOCRATS ON TRACK TO LOSE THEIR DARK MONEY ‘SECURITY BLANKET’
“The one word that comes to mind to describe his position would be hypocrisy,” Les Bernal, the executive director of Stop Predatory Gambling, told the left-wing Jacobin magazine. “If he [is] studying the Gospel, he must have missed the reading where Jesus says ‘Love others like I love you.’ Because casino gambling especially is a prime example of loving yourself more than your neighbor because it’s a business based on greed, manipulation, and exploitation.”
“Rep. Talarico supports adults making their own choices — if they’re going to gamble, he wants to see that money stay here to support better infrastructure, schools, and jobs,” a Talarico spokesperson told Jacobin. “The vast majority of Texans agree.”