Talarico has a major Black voter problem in Texas, at least if Tik Tok is any indication

[LonePirate]

During the past several days, I have seen dozens and dozens of videos on Tik Tok from Black creators in Texas who voted for Crockett but are now refusing to vote for Talarico in the November election. They don't plan on voting Republican. Instead, they say they are planning not to vote in his race or vote third party/write-in.

They are angry at Talarico and his allegedly racist voters in the state. Some even expect Talarico to switch parties if he wins the general election. Crockett extending her support to Talarico after his primary victory has not swayed these voters. It's very reminiscent of Bernie's voters refusing to support Hillary in 2016.

I don't know what the solutions are. I just know this is a major problem he needs to address and resolve, if it is even possible.

[RandySF]

1. He may or may not have a problem.

But social media doesn’t reflect the electorate at large.

[SunSeeker]

14. That's for sure. Otherwise, Zach King, with his 84 million TikTok followers, would be President. nt

[Deminpenn]

24. Exactly

[sop]

77. WTF is a TikTok "Black creator"?

Is that like the guy who holds up the "Blacks For Trump" sign behind the podium at every MAGA Bund rally?

[msongs]

2. bots? nt

[LonePirate]

5. No, at least they are not bots if judging by these videos and their past videos.

[SSJVegeta]

3. I have a solution:

Last edited Sun Mar 15, 2026, 10:31 AM - Edit history (1)

People shouldn't get their news from tik tok

[LonePirate]

6. The site/app gives more insight than other social media platforms.

People can directly speak to the camera for several minutes to explain themselves and give voice to their thoughts with more detail than the single sentence or two found on X/Threads/Bluesky or the occasional paragraph on Facebook.

[Blue Full Moon]

9. Deepfakes and owned by republicans

The shenanigans Paxton pulled. He wanted Crockett to go off on Telerico and give them fodder to use and divide the vote. If they sit out or vote republican the tech bros have made it clear that they are setting up neo feudalism and they are the kings and women and minorities are to be put at a disadvantage. Disrupt our society and government.

[TexasBushwhacker]

67. Diamond & Silk Part II? N/t

[muriel_volestrangler]

35. Have you ever heard the word "algorithm"?

It's been around for centuries, and has been much used in computer programming for decades. But, and I can see from your posts that this will come as a shock to you, it has been talked about rather a lot outside computing circles for a few years now, to describe how large websites, especially social media, feed suggestions for what you could read or watch not on an impartial "what is the most common thing on this platform?" basis, but on what gets most profit for the owners.

I know, I can see you're stunned that your idea that TikTok "gives more insight than other social media platforms" might be based on a naive supposition that what you're watching there is "detailed thoughts", rather than clickbait designed either for immediate profit, or to benefit the political feelings of its billionaire owners who just paid Trump a few billion to get to control it.

[SocialDemocrat61]

21. Nor should they bury their heads in the sand

if they want to win an election.

[SSJVegeta]

29. Or if they win said elections...

Make toxic and intentionally addictive predatory social media algorithms that sow distrust in our friends and family, hatred -and belief in vast levels of misinformation, illegal.

[SocialDemocrat61]

30. Sure

do everything possible but that also includes not ignoring potential problems and reaching out to every group, including those who voted for their opponent in the primary. To just assume it's a "predatory social media algorithm" is a recipe for failure.

[SSJVegeta]

31. The fact we are on these platforms in the first place is the problem.

We feed the monster by fueling it with our time, personal data - and ultimately giving them billions of dollars to lie to America and get people killed.

Nobody is "simply blaming" anything. It is pointing out a systemic problem that most of us are a part of creating.

Simply removing yourself from most or all social media, would be a large part of removing the problem.

[SocialDemocrat61]

32. Doesn't mean that a candidate shouldn't still reach out

to their former opponents supporter to get their votes.

Just blaming social media platforms is fine but not the only thing that wins elections.

[enough]

26. "Shouldn't" isn't a solution.

[SSJVegeta]

28. Perhaps "Dont" is more apropos

[BannonsLiver]

43. Agree. They should also get over the primary results and move on.

Concern trolling is annoying especially when it’s the result of falling for right wing bot networks on a now rabidly right wing social media platform controlled by right wingers.

[pinkstarburst]

50. I agree.

Everyone should also move past the primary and move on and vote for the candidate.

I voted for Hillary in 2008 because I had long been a Hillary fan and I knew very little about Obama. Obama advanced. I voted for him. He was a great president!
I voted for Elizabeth Warren in 2020. Biden and Harris were not even in my top 5 out of all the primary candidates. I sure didn't sit there having sour grapes. Elizabeth Warren would have been appalled at the idea of me writing in her name on my ballot instead of voting for Biden/Harris. I moved on and voted for our ticket. They did great things during their 4 years!
And I voted for Harris/Walz in 2024. Another great ticket even though Harris wasn't in my top 5 and Walz I knew nothing about before she picked him. You don't always get exactly who you want from the primary. That's how it goes. If we have sour grapes and get stuck in a funk and refuse to move on, we hand our future to the republicans. That's no way to live.

Tiktok is great for cat videos, book recommendations, watching figure skating, and other fun mindless scrolling. Do not get your news there.

[Keepthesoulalive]

4. We have always been pragmatic

Our lives depend on it. TikTok is strange place and many of the negative influencers live there. We will vote right as we have always done. Many black people are angry but we are not stupid.

[LonePirate]

7. I hope you are right. Maybe it will be a situation where time can heal the wounds from the primary.

[yardwork]

36. Black voters save our democracy over and over.

Black voters don't fall for tricks.

[Intractable]

8. "reminiscent of Bernie's voters refusing to support Hillary in 2016. "

Bernie attracted a lot of Republicans. They thought he was the only "honest" politician in the race. If I recall correctly, Joe Rogan said it to be so. Rogan had outsized sway over his millions of followers.

When Bernie lost to Hillary, these voters returned to the Republican party.

Bernie also was a hero of the left, the far left (me), the very far left, and way out there left. Many in the latter divisions swore they'd never vote for Hillary even before Bernie emerged. In their minds, Hillary represented big money, not the people.

Bernie had little sway over these voters after his primary loss.

[Skittles]

16. yeah

keep telling yourself that

[Intractable]

17. I do not understand your vague response.

Clarify. Spell out what you are saying so we can all see it for what it is.

[Cha]

72. I understand exactly what you're

saying.. and so do 5 other DUers.

It's Tragic That there were so many Lies about Hillary.. Jill Stein and Sarandon told them in the Swing States.. that Traitor and Hillary were the same. Sarandon said she would be worse. It's Why the Country got Fascism in the WH and spread through out the country.

Now it's Nazis

[JI7]

37. Rogan and other Republicans were using him to hurt Hillary

their lack of support for him after 2016 was over shows this.

[Intractable]

39. I see. So Bernie supporters had no agency. They were just supposed to do what you want.

Oh, I feel so used by the Republicans.



Too bad Hillary didn't have broader appeal, eh?

To me, she was the obvious choice against Trump, but was not what the swing state voters wanted.

[betsuni]

45. She lost the election by only about 40,000 votes in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania.

Swing state voters who said the economy was their most important concern voted for Hillary by 11 points. Average income of Trump voters in the primary was $72,000. Under $55,000 voted for Hillary by 12 points in the general.

Working class who cared about the economy voted for Hillary. Republicans and others gullible enough to believe propaganda from all sides both domestic and foreign voted or didn't vote because of lies, culture wars, character assassination and slander (such as accusing Hillary of rigging elections and being corrupt establishment controlled by Wall Street and other BS).

[Intractable]

48. In other words, she lost. She wasn't what those voters wanted.

Wasn't what I wanted either, but I voted for her.

[betsuni]

70. She was what Democrats wanted. The most reliable Democratic voters, Black women: 94% Hillary.

Because they knew her, weren't fooled by cheap slanderous character attacks that turned her into a cartoonish corrupt "establishment" corporate shill (when accusers asked to give evidence of corruption, silence) and all that BS Democrats STILL have to deal with (that helps Republicans).

[JI7]

51. She had more actual support than Sanders

whose "supporters" like Rogan went away after the 2016 elections.

[Intractable]

53. That's why she won. She had more votes than Bernie.

What's your point?

[JI7]

55. My point was that people like Rogan never actually supported Sanders

[Intractable]

57. I disagree. I knew some Republicans who would have voted for Bernie.

There were many Republicans out there who were fed up with their own party.

As for myself, I voted for Hillary, rather unenthusiastically, against Trump.

She was my Senator from NY. I voted for her there with enthusiasm because I thought she'd be a progressive and a fighter.

And when she voted for the Iraq war -- fooled like so many of them by Bush -- I said to myself I'd never vote for her again unless I had to.

Well, I had to in 2016. Against Trump, it was a easy decision.

But I watched as other Bernie supporters went back to where they came from, to the Republicans and to the Greens, the latter of which just wasted their votes on the highly detrimental Jill Stein.

[JI7]

58. Huh ? Bernie Sanders is still Senator

[Intractable]

59. I'm sorry you lost the thread.

I will provide no further explanations.

Have a nice day!

[JI7]

60. I don't care for bs. People that support Elon Musk just can't bring themselves

to support Hillary becsuse they have a problem with wealthy , corporations or some shit.

Rogan and others like him are just shit people.

[JI7]

63. Yes, Rogan supports Elon Musk

[betsuni]

47. Yes. 24% of his voters were anti-Hillary who disappeared in 2020, leaving him with fewer votes than 2016.

In 2016, Sanders won 73 out of 83 Michigan counties. In 2020 Biden won all 83. No evidence of Republican support more than other Democratic nominees.

[JI7]

52. Yes, And he is still Senator

the only time I see Rogan types support him is when they want to attack Democrats.

They aren't talking about taxing the wealthy or going after the wealthy in any way.

And we saw how they support Elon Musk.

All of this clearly shows what their agenda was.

[Cha]

71. Hillary Represented The People and Dem Judges

For the SCOTUS.

[betsuni]

73. By the way, fact checking by PolitiFact found Hillary the most honest of all 2016 candidates.

It took a lot of work to convince people that she was "untrustworthy." It was all BS.

And now of course everybody says Hillary was right.

[no_hypocrisy]

10. And African-American voters in Texas would prefer to have either

Paxton or Cornyn as their senator, correct? Or IOW, mini-Trump calling their shots . . . .

[Keepthesoulalive]

41. Why do you think we are fickle

We have been voting against them in perpetuity. We are not the problem , we vote right . The dominant culture should join us.

[Jedi Guy]

11. Honestly don't think it's his problem to solve.

To me it sounds much more like a case of sour grapes. I don't live in Texas and as such didn't pay much attention at all to the race in question. All the same, I cannot imagine that Talarico ran a racist campaign, not after the things I've read about him.

These folks need to grow up. Their preferred candidate didn't win the primary. That's how it goes in a democracy. Sitting out the vote or voting third party is idiotic and only helps the GOP. It's legit cutting off one's nose to spite one's face.

And a very cynical part of me feels like the allegations of racism against Talarico are projection from people who don't want to vote for him because he's white. And that's incredibly shitty.

[SocialDemocrat61]

20. Yes it is if he wants to win

Talarico needs to do more outreach to black voters.

[Quiet Em]

22. Thankfully, James Talarico seems aware of that even if his supporters aren't

Whether Talarico can expand his support among voters who energized Crockett’s campaign may prove critical in determining whether Democrats can compete in a statewide contest that is expected to draw national attention.

“I completely understand if I’m not Black Texans’ first choice in this race,” Talarico told POLITICO ahead of the primaries. “But I would love to be their close second choice. And if I don’t get it in this race, I hope to have it in the general election.”

https://americancommunitymedia.org/politics/what-black-women-voters-want-from-james-talarico-after-the-texas-democratic-primary/

[LeftInTX]

40. Jasmine was my choice and I'm white

It wasn't Talarico himself, but some influencers.
I got annoying videos from some sort of young progressive groups
Other groups were saying :We need a white Christian male. He's electable." "They will tear Jasmine to shreds because she's black"

Well with Jasmine, what you see is what you get.

Now the GOP is "swiftboating" Talarico's Christianity. I knew this would happen.

I don't think the arguments against Jasmine were viable. Yes, they would have bashed her, but with Talarico it's a more complicated bashing. It's a swiftboating of his Christianity. I knew this would happen. You're really can't compete against fundies. It's like Rambo versus a dignified officer.

[karynnj]

56. He should be reaching out to ALL parts of the base

in addition to trying to speak to any faction that might listen.

In every state, African Americans vote overwhelmingly for the Democrats and it is very likely he will get a large proportion of that vote. However, as important is to make sure that core part of the base is enthusiastic enough to vote in large numbers.

As the candidate, finding how to do that by speaking to them on issues they care about and p noerhaps campaigning with people who are loved in that community including Crockett. It would be great if black members of the state Senate who know him can vouch for him.

The Paxton nonsense on election day seemed mainly to mess up the narrative if either candidate narrowly won. Only Dallas and Austin seemed to have the problem with a change in how to vote. As it was if you look at the Dallas County official site, Crockett only won the day of voting by around 10,000. Given his margin of victory even if half the people who wanted to vote on election day but couldn't, if their voting pattern was similar to the people who did vote, he would still have won by a large margin.

The fact that this voter suppression is highly unlikely to have changed the vote, it is still a major problem that is undemocratic. Voting should be easy for all registered voters.

[OrlandoDem2]

12. So tiresome. Hes a good man and he'd be good for all of TX. Vote Blue!

[SunSeeker]

13. Of course many Texas voters are racist. What else is new?

That's not Talarico's fault. He doesn't have a racist bone in his body. But he actually has a chance to win Texas. And that's why many nonracist voters chose Talarico over Crockett.

It's the same reason South Carolina's James Clyburn endorsed Joe Biden in the Democratic primary in 2020 over Deval Patrick.

[QueerDuck]

15. And, here we go...

[MorbidButterflyTat]

46. It started the night of the election

As soon as it was called for Talarico.

[QueerDuck]

49. Yep. It takes a lot of sour 🍇 grapes to...

... make whine 🍷 ... some folks never learn.

[Quiet Em]

18. Black women show up for Democrats even when the party doesn't show up for them.

I wouldn't be expecting Black women in Texas to put up lawn signs, phone bank or knock on doors, but they will vote. That's what I've heard from Black women in Texas.

[SocialDemocrat61]

19. You are exactly right

Black women are reliable democratic voters. They will vote for him but nothing else.

[themaguffin]

23. "This major problem" asserted by randos on the app that encourages middle school kids to break things. WTF.

[Vinca]

25. The real problem is getting through the thick heads of voters that in the general election, there are really only

2 choices because we are a 2-party system. Independents occasionally win, but not often. If they sit out because they're in a snit their candidate didn't win the primary, they are allowing a Republican - who will definitely cause them harm in some way - to win the seat. This drives me nuts. This is why we have Trump.

[The Wizard]

27. If you will only vote

for the perfect candidate, expect to be permanently out of power. The anti Talacaro movement on Tic tok could very well be Internet trolls paid by the GQP/ Russia to skew the vote.

[NameAlreadyTaken]

33. So this is how the GOP is trying to take down Talarico.

I knew something was coming soon. They got around their ouija board and conjured up the ghost of Lee Atwater. What to do... what to do?

[JBTaurus83]

34. Tik Tok is a cesspool

It’s used to divide Democrats against eachother.

[JI7]

38. What is the white Male support for the candidates so far ?

[pinkstarburst]

42. If this is our attitude, we can look forward

to republicans in office for the rest of eternity.

Republican voters don't play these immature games. They show up for their candidates, reliably, every single time. They may have their preferences in the primaries, but when it comes time for the general election, they show up and they vote for their guy.

If so called democrats decide that we will only vote for a candidate who shares our race and sex, where does that leave us? Losing every election, that's where.

This is just sour grapes and people need to grow up. Only one person can win the primary. That's how it goes. If Hispanic voters sit out every time there isn't a Hispanic man on the ticket, and white women sit out every time there isn't a white woman on the ticket, and now southeast Asian women are threatening to sit out because they didn't get represented on the ticket... we lose every time.

[SocialDemocrat61]

75. It's still Talarico's job

to win over Crockett voters by showing he doesn’t take them for granted.

[pinkstarburst]

78. Do you feel it's the job of every black candidate

to win over white voters by showing they don't take them for granted? Do we want to set this precedent if Kamala is the nominee in 2028? Oh, she didn't do a good enough job trying to win over white voters and show them she doesn't take them for granted. If Jasmine ever runs for office again, that will be your message to her, that she needs to work harder to win over white voters to show she doesn't take them for granted?

By the way, I think EVERY candidate must make their case to ALL voters why they are going to represent them well and fight for their best interests. That includes reaching out to all subgroups within the party. But we have a real problem within the democratic party among some fickle unloyal voters who seem to think that the candidate must "earn their vote" every time or they will protest vote, write in someone else's name, sit this one out, etc. Republicans don't do that. They vote for their guy every time and this is how we wind up with 4 years of facism and terrible things happening to our most vulnerable citizens. I absolutely believe all candidates need to work to listen to all corners of the party and one reason I really like Talarico is because he seems like such a genuinely good, compassionate man. But this attitude of "you earn my vote or I sit out, I make no effort, I protest vote" is going to bite us in the butt. Very disappointing.

[SocialDemocrat61]

79. Yes it is

Have a nice day!

[kacekwl]

54. Not voting is not the solution for

your hurt feelings. History will tell you if you really care.

[Initech]

61. Tik Tok is under Ellison / MAGA / Trump control now.

This is 100% a gaslighting operation. Do not fall for it!

[Boo1]

64. Or....

you sought out such content and now the algorithm is feeding you. You watch it and the algorithm thinks that it needs to supply even more. It's called a feedback loop.

[Scrivener7]

65. Where is OUR bot farm?

[pinkstarburst]

66. You see this sort of content

in your personal feed because you watch it all the time. Tiktok feeds you more of what you watch. So if you are watching this sort of angry (probably bot/russian troll supported) content and getting more wound up, Tiktok, which is now a right wing controlled site after it was recently purchased, will keep feeding you more of it.

My advice is to watch more cute dog and cat videos.

[cpamomfromtexas]

68. She can beat Cruz and Talarico will help her.

Keep the BIG PICTURE GOING.

[mr715]

69. That conditional is carrying a lot of weight.

If Talarico is in fact having a black voter problem, social media isn't the best source.

He won the primary, we'll see what the general proves.

[B.See]

74. I saw Talarico on Psaki tonight, and

she asked him outright about reach out to Crockett, her voters and her support, and he said he did and would be honoured if she campaigned with him.

As I wrote before, my preference would've been Jasmine, but the nominee now is Talarico.

So if people wanna get all pissy, like some did over Bernie, and like those pro-Palestinian protestors that we haven't heard squat from since November, then go ahead, f-around, and settle for living under a maga fascist regime hell bent on kicking our asses every chance they get.

[SocialDemocrat61]

76. The protestors are still

protesting Harris on her book tour. Oddly, they are not protesting Trump.

[B.See]

82. Or perhaps NOT so oddly.

Wouldn't it be something if it was later discovered they're acting on behalf of Republicans?

[Aepps22]

81. He Really Does But Not His Fault

Understanding and addressing the unique experience of the Black community and our voting patterns since Obama is something that the party has to address. Like any other voting block, you have to earn our vote and have real policies that are tailored and directed towards the Black community. James is facing a much broader fight that isn’t only his but our party has to address. Black people are the most consistent and reliable voting block in the party but there are a lot of us that feel like our votes get taken for granted. The election church tour and the once in awhile town hall won’t cut it anymore. The younger Black voters want real policies and to be courted in a real and authentic way like the party seems to do rural voters. Black voters consistently vote to reduce harm but at some point if you don’t try to earn our votes, people may not vote for the other candidate but they will stay home. Every time I go to the barbershop I find myself debating a 20 something or a person my own age about the importance of voting D straight down the ticket and they rightly or wrongly ask the same question and that is what policies are specifically geared towards Black people?

Trump in his nonsense recognized this more so than most politicians that I’ve seen. His racist comments about “black jobs” or his “Platinum Plan” were strategic and though surface level and based on lies was his attempt to court Black voters.

Race and the Black experience is unfortunately a blind spot that we have to address. Making statements to Black people that things will be so much worse if they don’t vote is ringing hollow to the younger generation and given this country’s history of poor treatment of Black people, we are very resilient. James needs to speak to Black people and mention actual policies that will positively impact them like pushing for job placement for displaced federal workers and removing barriers from Black farmers form getting access to the billions of dollars allocated to farmers in the farm bill.