Texas Senate Contest Tightens as Young Voters Surge Behind Democrat Talarico
The Barbara Jordan Center survey of 1,800 likely voters conducted Sept. 15-19 finds Talarico far ahead of Paxton with young voters, a swing of 17 points since July. Overall, the race is essentially tied, with Talarico at 47% and Paxton at 46%. A Talarico victory would mark the first statewide Democratic win in Texas in more than three decades. Paxton’s recent student-chapter outreach has not halted the shift toward his opponent among Gen Z.
According to a late-July poll released by the Barbara Jordan Public Policy Research and Survey Center at Texas Southern University, Democratic Rep. James Talarico now leads Attorney General Ken Paxton 76% to 18% among likely voters under 35, a 17-point swing since the previous survey. The same poll, fielded Sept. 15-19 with a margin of error of ±2.31 points, shows the overall contest essentially deadlocked at 47% for Talarico and 46% for Paxton, with Libertarian Ted Brown at 3% and 4% undecided.
A win for Talarico would be the first Democratic statewide victory in Texas in over thirty years. Paxton’s recent effort to create student chapters on campuses has not stemmed the loss of young support, which has largely migrated to Talarico, who has focused on podcasts and online shows popular with younger men. The poll also notes that younger voters favor Democrats in other statewide races, and that older voters continue to back Paxton, highlighting the demographic divide shaping the election.
How this was covered
- Right-leaning outlets covered this 10h later
How this story developed
- Sep 15 Mike Rogers skips Fox Two debate, cites moderator bias against rival
- Sep 15 Senators Elissa Slotkin and Gary Peters will ask their Democratic colleagues to provide financial help and rally behind nominee Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan’s pivotal Senate contest.
- Sep 22 Senate Democrats publicly unified behind Abdul el Sayed.
- Sep 23 A new poll of likely voters was released.
Related stories
23 in this thread