An endorsement by Donald Trump gives Democrats their biggest opportunity in a generation to finally win in Texas. Star senate candidate James Talarico is leading in the polls thanks to a unique blend of faith and centre-left politics with roots in a century-old political movement. This video is about that movement, how Talarico can use it to win, and how Trump’s endorsement of Ken Paxton could have paved the way for Texas finally becoming a purple state.

I made this video partly because I find James Talarico’s connection to the Social Gospel movement, and the broader progressive-populist movement of the 1900s, to be unique and interesting. It’s not necessarily a one-to-one comparison, but his political beliefs, platform and strategy seem inspired by those movements. So here is some expansion and clarification about the progressive-populists. It’ll probably make more sense after the video, and it’ll hopefully answer some questions you may have:

I refer to the movement as “centre-left populist,” as opposed to their more ideologically left-wing socialist counterparts in Europe. A lot of that difference can be attributed to the kinds of supporters they were attracting, and the types of people who led them. Although urban labour was an important part of the old North American populist movement, it was initially most powerful in the agrarian West and Midwest. The movement was supported by farmers and small business owners in the resource sector, so it was more pro-private property than European socialists and it fought monopolistic big business rather than capitalism as a whole. Talarico is similarly trying to appeal to people who we don’t really think of as left-of-centre voters (Republican-leaning Independents) by appealing to an anti-elite populism rather than traditional centrism or political triangulation. Talarico is clearly more of a modern centre-left politician, but a lot of his rhetoric blends those same anti-elite, anti-inequality ideas with a Social Gospel-style interpretation of the Bible. That’s what makes him a really interesting, modern reinterpretation of the old progressives.

Chapters: 00:00 (Talarico’s Social Gospel) 03:38 (Paxton vs. Cornyn) 05:57 (Talarico’s Path to Victory)

Academic Sources: Social Gospel - Timeline Movement | The Association of Religion Data Archives Populism and Agrarian Discontent | Michael Kazin. The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History

Data Sources: The Cook Political Report

News Sources: John Cornyn undone by past Trump misgivings after decades as a loyal party man | Sahil Kapur. NBC News. 2026/05/26. James Talarico puts his faith in Texas voters | Tad Friend. The New Yorker. 2026/02/23. Letter from Washington: Why James Talarico may be the future of Democratic foreign policy | Chris Hermann, Jeremy Shapiro. European Council on Foreign Relations. 2026/03/17. Texas Sen. Angela Paxton seeks divorce from AG Ken Paxton on “biblical grounds” | Eleanor Klibanoff. The Texas Tribune. 2025/07/10. Texas AG Ken Paxton reaches deal to end securities fraud charges after 9 years | Associated Press. 2024/03/26. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton impeached by fellow Republicans | Serio Martínez-Beltrán. NPR. 2025/05/27. Trump says he will endorse “soon” in Texas Primary | Bridget Bowman, Frank Thorp V, Garrett Haake. NBC News. 2026/03/04. The SAVE Act threatens voting rights | Trey Walk. Human Rights Watch. 2026/02/10.