AUSTIN, Texas – Texas state Rep. James Talarico has raised $27 million for his U.S. Senate campaign in the first quarter of 2026, breaking the record for any Senate candidate in a U.S. race. 

The Austin Democrat has now taken in more than $40 million since starting his bid last September, his press team announced Wednesday. 

Talarico breaks another fundraising record

The latest:

The $40 million total came from more than 970,000 donations from over 540,000 individual contributors, the press release says, with donations from 246 of Texas’ 254 counties and none from corporate PACs. Since primary day, he has raised over $10 million.

The $27 million raised this quarter is the most ever raised by a Senate candidate in the first quarter of an election year, Talarico’s team says. About 97% of the donations were $100 or less, given by a base of donors including farmers, ranchers, oil workers, nurses, firefighters, his team said, though the most common profession for Talarico donors has reportedly been teachers. Talarico began his career as a public school teacher at a middle school in San Antonio. 

By comparison, Politico compiled other fundraising efforts by Senate hopefuls across the nation. They say Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff raised more than $14 million in the first quarter; In North Carolina, former Gov. Roy Cooper raised $13.8 million; In Alaska, former Rep. Mary Peltola brought in $8.9 million; and former Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown raised $12.5 million in his comeback bid.

‘Ready to take back Texas for working people’

What they’re saying:

“Grassroots contributors from almost every county in Texas are sending Washington D.C. a clear message: they’re tired of this broken, corrupt political system, and they’re ready to take back Texas for working people,” said James Talarico. “We’re bringing Democrats, Republicans, and Independents together to end billionaire control over our politics and bring down costs for families across our state.”

“Winning in Texas will require unprecedented resources,” said Seth Krasne, Talarico’s campaign manager. “This grassroots fundraising haul puts our movement in a strong position to spread our message in some of the most expensive media markets in the country. But we can’t take our foot off of the gas.”

State Rep. James Talarico addresses the crowd during a campaign rally after launching his Senate campaign for the seat held by John Cornyn in Round Rock, Texas, Sept. 9, 2025. (Callaghan O’Hare for The Washington Post via Getty Images)

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James Talarico Senate campaign

The backstory:

Talarico has served in the Texas House since 2018, representing part of the Austin area. He’s been running for Senate with a progressive populist, anti-billionaire stance, claiming he intends to fight for U.S. workers and get big donors out of politics. 

This isn’t the first time Talarico has broken a fundraising record in his campaign. Within weeks of joining the race in September 2025, the Democrat reported raising $6.2 million. Since the start, Talarico has said his campaign has taken zero dollars from corporate PACs (it should be noted that at least one super PAC, Lone Star Rising, has advertised and stumped in favor of Talarico. Per federal law, candidates cannot coordinate with outside entities, and the campaign maintains that they’ve obeyed those guidelines throughout the race).

Talarico entered the race to challenge former U.S. Rep. Colin Allred for the Democrat nomination. Allred dropped out to run again for the House, leaving Talarico and U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett to duke it out in March. Talarico ended up winning the primary on March 3 after a heated race, which included some confusion at the polls for residents in a couple of contentious Texas counties. 

What’s next:

The Republican nominee for Senate will be decided on May 26 by a runoff between incumbent Sen. John Cornyn and Texas AG Ken Paxton. Talarico will face the winner of that race in the general election on Nov. 3.