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 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 reasons Talarico is such a hit on TikTok is his special talent for breaking through 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 level of authenticity and resonance is rare in Democratic politics, but figures like James Talarico and Zohran Mamdani demonstrate that it’s possible.
Part of the reason for Talarico’s recent success is the young team behind his social media presence. Luminary Strategies, a Gen-Z led digital agency, is part of the talent behind his online campaign. In addition to managing his existing social media account, the team also created a new hub account for Talarico supporters, called @TeamTalaricoHQ. In just six months, the TikTok account ballooned to over 280,000 followers, 8.1 million total likes, and tens of millions of views.
This viral online 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.
Update: Since this story was published, James Talarico has secured the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate and will face the winner of the Texas GOP runoff scheduled for early May. Neither John Cornyn nor Ken Paxton currently has a presence on TikTok, giving James Talarico a major advantage in that arena.