Democratic Senate hopeful James Talarico skipped a Bernie Sanders El Paso rally promoting his bid and campaigned separately in North Texas as early voting began.
Fox News Digital reported that Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Rep. Beto O'Rourke headlined a Monday night rally for Texas Democrats at the Abraham Chavez Theatre in El Paso while Senate candidate James Talarico held his own events farther north.
The El Paso gathering promoted Talarico’s bid for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Republican Sen. John Cornyn. Talarico did not appear. He spoke instead at North Crowley High School in Fort Worth after an earlier stop in Denton on his “Clear Eyes, Full Hearts” tour.
Early voting was already underway ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections. Democrats are chasing their first Texas U.S. Senate win since 1988. Talarico faces Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Sanders headlined the El Paso event as part of his nationwide “Fighting Oligarchy Tour.” He appeared with O’Rourke and Democratic Reps. Greg Casar and Veronica Escobar. Sanders criticized wealthy donors and urged supporters to vote early. He did not name Talarico.
O’Rourke made the spending fight the centerpiece. He cast Republican money as proof of panic over Talarico’s candidacy.
O’Rourke told the crowd:
"They have spent, so far, $368 million just against one man, the next senator from the state of Texas, James Talarico. That's how desperate, how scared and how panicked they are right now,"
Sanders struck the same theme without naming the candidate. He framed the Texas race as part of a national pattern of outsized donor power.
Sanders said:
"What you are seeing in this campaign, what you are seeing right here in Texas, all over America, is multibillionaires are pouring hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars,"
Casar backed Talarico and told the audience that electing him would help move Democrats’ legislative priorities. Escobar joined the stage as well. The progressive headliners filled the room. The candidate himself stayed away.
While Sanders and O’Rourke worked El Paso, Talarico pressed his North Texas stops. He targeted Paxton and named Elon Musk when discussing wealthy-donor influence. He also tried to cast the contest as larger than party labels.
Talarico told supporters:
"We have an affordability crisis because we have a corruption crisis,"
He added a broader frame:
"This election shouldn't be about the Democratic Party or the Republican Party. It's bigger than that,"
That message landed far from the Sanders “Fighting Oligarchy” stage. Fox News Digital sought comment from Talarico’s campaign on the decision to hold a separate event. No response appeared in the report.
The skip left the progressive marquee event without its Senate standard-bearer even as speakers spent the night promoting him. Voters watching the split schedule saw two Democratic tracks on the same night, one led by national progressive stars, the other by the candidate on his own tour branding.
Texas has not sent a Democrat to the U.S. Senate since 1988. That drought frames every high-profile assist from Sanders and O’Rourke. It also frames every attempt by Talarico to sound bigger than party.
Outside groups and public figures have already lined up in the same contest. The U.S. Chamber backs Ken Paxton in the race, underscoring the institutional stakes on the Republican side.
Talarico has tried to set his own terms on border politics and other flashpoints while chasing statewide viability. One earlier move put him on the border in a campaign ad that took aim at President Biden’s record.
Cross-party money has also surfaced. Reporting on a Bush family donation boosting Talarico showed how unusual sources can still flow into a Democratic Senate bid in Texas.
Paxton continues to collect conservative backing of his own. A Cowboys Hall of Famer endorsement of Paxton carried a direct warning that Talarico cannot be trusted.
Optimistic voices on the left still sell a blue breakthrough. Predictions that Texas will flip and Talarico will win keep circulating even as the candidate manages his distance from a Sanders headliner.
Talarico’s campaign calendar already stretched across the state before the El Paso split. Captions placed him at a July 13, 2026, “Frontera Tour” stop at the International Center for Trade convention center in Eagle Pass. Another rally hit the Cailloux Theater in Kerrville on Aug. 31, 2026. The October 19 North Texas events fit that independent pattern.
Sanders’ stop belonged to a national tour aimed at donor power and oligarchy themes. O’Rourke’s $368 million claim and Sanders’ “hundreds and hundreds of millions” line gave the El Paso crowd a clear villain: big money arrayed against Talarico. The candidate’s own words that same night pointed at corruption and affordability while insisting the race rose above Democratic and Republican labels.
The practical picture remained simple. Progressive stars filled an El Paso theater to boost a Democratic Senate nominee. The nominee ran his own rallies in Denton and Fort Worth. Early voting had started. The general election lands on Nov. 3.
No public explanation closed the gap between the two schedules. The campaign did not supply one when asked. Sanders never spoke Talarico’s name from the El Paso stage even as O’Rourke called him the next senator from Texas.
Texas voters have spent decades rejecting Democratic Senate candidates. A split-screen campaign night, with Bernie Sanders and Beto O’Rourke in one city and the nominee in another, gives them another clear look at the product on offer before they finish casting ballots.
