Talarico, unity and Latino voters: What matters at Texas' Democratic convention

Texas Democrats gather this week in Corpus Christi for a familiar ritual: searching for a path out of the political wilderness.

This time, Democrats arrive at their party's state convention with renewed hope. They believe the forces shaping the midterm elections could help them win their first statewide office since 1994.

Here are five story lines to watch at the Texas Democratic convention that kicks off Thursday.

Talarico's message

James Talarico won't need to win over convention delegates in Corpus Christi. The Democratic Senate nominee's bigger test is persuading Texans outside the party's base that he offers an alternative to his Republican rival, Attorney General Ken Paxton.

His speech Friday is expected to focus on themes that have defined his campaign: targeting government corruption, easing economic anxiety and expanding the party's reach.

"We've got to build a coalition that includes everybody," Talarico recently told The Dallas Morning News. "It's independents, it's Republicans who are disillusioned with the corruption and the extremism in our government."

Talarico, a state representative from Austin, has built one of the party's strongest fundraising operations in years, providing the resources to try to engage voters across Texas.

Without Crockett

Democrats enter their convention mostly unified, but the absence of U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Dallas looms large. Crockett lost to Talarico in a closely watched Senate primary and has said she plans to focus on helping candidates in other races, rather than actively campaigning for him.

That leaves Talarico trying to consolidate support from her backers, including Black voters, without one of the party's most prominent voices on the trail.

Most Democratic leaders have rallied behind Talarico. Even with their support, he faces a challenge in persuading infrequent voters and people who often sit out elections to turn out this fall.

Hinojosa's moment

State Rep. Gina Hinojosa of Austin, the Democratic nominee for governor, has largely run in Talarico's shadow.

The convention gives her one of the largest platforms of the campaign to sharpen her case against Republican incumbent Greg Abbott, who never mentions her name in public.

Like Talarico, Hinojosa has centered her campaign on ethics and accountability in state government.

She has said that Abbott's policies, including the new statewide program that allows students to receive public dollars to attend private schools, will weaken public education.

Courting Latino voters

The convention's location is no accident.

South Texas has become an intense battleground, with President Donald Trump, Abbott and fellow Republicans making gains with Latinos over the last several years.

Democrats believe they cannot win statewide without improving their performance among those voters.

The party hopes the Corpus Christi gathering helps energize that bloc, particularly in congressional races across South Texas that Republicans are targeting after last year's redistricting.

National partisans

The convention will feature several prominent figures from outside Texas, including Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, both Democrats. Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent, also is among the featured speakers.

Their presence reflects the party's continued belief that the state remains a long-term political opportunity, despite decades of statewide losses.

For Republicans, the lineup offers fodder to tie Texas Democrats to prominent liberal figures.

The Illinois governor, a leading Trump critic, frequently is mentioned as a potential 2028 presidential contender. Sanders, meanwhile, remains a favorite among progressives. He appears on Saturday, the convention's final session, coming a day after the Talarico and Hinojosa speeches.

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