James Talarico is a viral hit on TikTok
The U.S. Senate hopeful has tapped into something big on social media and it could be a defining factor in the upcoming primary election.
For most politically-oriented Texans, James Talarico has been a known quantity for several years now. First entering office in 2017, the former-teacher-turned State Representative flipped a Trump district and has stood toe-to-toe against the extremist Texas Republican Party and their billionaire donors.
Talarico’s social media presence before his 2026 U.S. Senate announcement was decent for a state-level politician. He had some viral moments, including several speeches he gave during the two quorum-breaks, but his profile never really entered the national mainstream. Now, the rest of the country is finally getting a look at Talarico — and they seem to be loving what they’re seeing.
At the time of writing this article, the State Representative has over 1.5 million followers on TikTok with over 31.1 million total likes. These numbers are massive, even for a state like Texas with a large population. The content on his account is pretty straightforward: typically clips from campaign stops, media appearances, and recordings of his speeches on the floor of the State House or in committee hearings. It’s not uncommon for Talarico’s videos to reach several hundred thousand views, but it seems like every couple of videos he uploads goes viral with over a million views, which many TikTok creators know can be a very difficult milestone to achieve.
One of the primary reasons for his online success is fairly simple, but it’s not something many politicians can easily replicate. James Talarico has a special talent for breaking through the partisan noise and reaching people’s hearts and minds. It is not uncommon to find comments from self-described Democrats, independents, and even Republicans supporting Talarico. This kind of cross-partisan appeal is very rare, especially in today’s day and age when hyper-partisanship reigns supreme.
This viral support has translated well into personal and financial support. While we can’t know for sure how many of his campaign’s donations come from TikTok and other social media accounts, it’s safe to say they are most likely contributing to his historic fundraising numbers. The Talarico campaign recently announced that the campaign has raised over $20 million from over 290,000 grassroots supporters. It’s highly unlikely that his fundraising would be this massive without his viral performance on social media.
As the March 3 primary inches closer and closer, his fundraising haul and massive social media presence may be the defining factors in the race. Should he come out on top and become the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, the Texas Republican Party will have a tough fight on their hands.