Talarico vows to take on corruption, from Ken Paxton to Supreme Court, to protect Black voters

In an interview with theGrio, James Talarico argues corruption in government is threatening Black communities’ economic security and access to the ballot box.

Texas U.S. Senate Democratic nominee James Talarico is vowing to take on corruption in American politics, which he says is directly harming Black communities in the state and across the country.

In a sit-down interview with theGrio, Talarico calls out his opponent in the closely-watched U.S. Senate battle, Republican nominee Ken Paxton, and the conservative majority in the U.S. Supreme Court, for being part of a broad, corrupt political system that is robbing Black and brown communities of economic opportunity, affordable health care, and equal access to America’s most basic right to vote.

“Ken Paxton is definitely the most corrupt politician in our state, maybe in our country,” Talarico said of his Republican opponent, who was indicted on securities fraud charges before they were dismissed after paying $300,000 in restitution and completing community service.

Paxton was also impeached in 2023 by his own party in the Texas House of Representatives for bribery, abuse of official office, and retaliation against whistleblowers, but was later acquitted by the state Senate.

Talarico argues the prevalence of corrupt politicians like Paxton, who use their positions of power to enrich themselves and their wealthy friends, is why most Americans, especially the most vulnerable, can’t “afford anything” or can’t “get ahead no matter how hard we work.”

“We have an affordability crisis because we have a corruption crisis,” the 37-year-old Democrat told theGrio. “It’s why our pay has been stagnant for years and decades, housing costs have gone up, and it’s why Big Pharma is driving up the cost of prescription drugs.”

Talarico continued, “We don’t have a government of, by, and for the people. We have a Government of, by, and for the billionaires. So this system is working exactly as it was intended to work. And the only way we’re gonna unrig this economic system is if we take power back from the people at the very top, the billionaire mega donors and their corrupt politicians like Ken Paxton.”

The U.S. Senate hopeful has been campaigning across Texas, engaging with Black voters — a voting bloc he cannot win November’s election without.

He told theGrio, “When I’ve been showing up in Black communities across the state, I’m hearing a lot about these issues; affordability, housing, prescription drugs, healthcare, childcare, which is now more expensive than college. And, I think it should build a sense of urgency in all of us in the state to win this race, because if we can beat the most corrupt politician in the state, then we can come together and defeat this entire corrupt system. And start unrigging this economy so we can all finally start to get ahead again.”

A new Fox News poll shows that Black Texans overwhelmingly back Talarico over Paxton, 87% to 13%. Among overall Texas voters, Talarico leads Paxton 51% to 48%, a major lead, given that a Democrat has not won a U.S. Senate seat in Texas since 1988.

But it’s not just the corruption of elected officials that Talarico believes should be called out. The Democrat says there also needs to be greater scrutiny of the U.S. Supreme Court, where conservative justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito have faced controversy over accepting lavish gifts from wealthy political donors. The court’s conservative majority has also been accused by Democrats and civil rights leaders of politicizing the court at the expense of the law and, most especially, “The People.”

“We’ve seen corruption in the judicial branch, just as we’ve seen it in the legislative and executive branches,” said Talarico. “This should be a five-alarm fire for all of us. Black Texans, Black Americans have been ringing the alarm about the Supreme Court. And I think it’s time for all of us to realize the crisis that we face on the highest court in this country.”

The high court has especially faced backlash after recently gutting the hard-fought Voting Rights Act of 1965, which now allows Republican-led states to draw Black voters out of majority-Black districts, consequently diluting decades-long voting power of Black Americans.

“This is an emergency. Our constitutional rights at the ballot box are God-given. They are inherent as people who are created equal. And right now, the Supreme Court and the extremists in the halls of power are trying to rob our Black and brown neighbors from being able to fulfill those God-given rights at the ballot box,” Talarico told theGrio. “We have seen the most aggressive attack on Black political power since Jim Crow just over the last 12 months with these court rulings, with these racist redistricting maps in states like Texas.”

The Democrat is calling for an “overhaul” of the Supreme Court, which includes passing a bill setting term limits for justices, who currently serve lifetime appointments, and a binding code of conduct. He is also joining Democrats in calling for the passing of the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, which would restore key provisions of the Voting Rights Act that the Supreme Court previously struck down.

Reflecting on the U.S. Senate seat he is vying for, which once belonged to former President Lyndon B. Johnson, Talarico told theGrio, “I think we have an obligation since he signed the Voting Rights Act into law to win his seat back and restore voting rights for all Americans.”