Texas state Rep. James Talarico was confronted by a voter at a Houston town hall on Sunday who accused the Democrat of not doing enough for black voters.
The Democratic nominee running for the U.S. Senate in Texas against Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton held the town hall to address concerns and build trust with black voters, according to the Houston Defender.
The confrontation came after Talarico spent more than an hour fielding questions from attendees. As the event neared its conclusion, one woman challenged the state representative over his record and questioned whether he had truly earned the trust of black voters.
The 50-year-old woman, Kandice Webber, a local activist and organizer for the Houston wing of Black Lives Matter, argued that support from the community could not simply be assumed in statewide campaigns, according to the Houston Chronicle.
“I drove 45 minutes to get here to talk to you, after I’ve been hounding your campaign,” Webber said. “You’re not leaving here until you answer our questions. Black people don’t trust you for this reason, and you cannot win without us, so you stay here, you answer our questions, or you suffer the consequences.”
The footage recorded by Austin American-Statesman breaking news reporter Faith Bugenhagen shows several attendees with their hands raised after Talarico’s campaign staffers called for final questions.
“Attendee speaks out toward end of questioning saying @jamestalarico needs to stay that group waited 45 minutes through his speech — crowd getting tense,” Bugenhagen shared in a post on X.
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Webber later shared on Facebook that she believes Talarico has no real interest in representing black constituents, saying, “I showed up at James Talarico’s town hall for colored people. I was not surprised. He has no real interest in improving the quality of life for Black Texas. He came to our city expecting this to be easy.”
Recent polling suggests Talarico is faring comparatively well with black voters, with 67% indicating they support him. This compares with 47% for Colin Allred in 2024 and 48% for Beto O’Rourke in 2018 at around the same stage in their respective bids for Senate, according to Houston Public Media.