Texas Rep. Talarico to run Super Bowl ad ahead of U.S. Senate primary

HOUSTON - State Rep. James Talarico is the first, and apparently only, U.S. Senate hopeful in Texas to take out ad space during the Super Bowl for his campaign. 

Talarico (D-Austin) shared the ad on social media Thursday ahead of Sunday's game, prompting responses and opinions from his Democratic opponent Jasmine Crockett. 

James Talarico shares Super Bowl ad

Talarico's campaign spent six figures on the ad, which will air in the Houston area during the final professional football game of the season. The 30-second ad will run once during the game, according to the Houston Chronicle. 

The ad reflects a message the former public school teacher has shared throughout his campaign — anti-corporate PAC money, in favor of higher taxes on the rich, and in support of tax cuts for those with typical incomes. 

"Billionaires don’t just influence politicians, they own them," Talarico said in the ad, promising he's refused large donations from rich contributors in favor of representing the average person. 

Jasmine Crockett reacts

What they're saying:

FOX 4 political reporter Steven Dial spoke with U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Dallas) Thursday to discuss her campaign. Crockett, Talarico's opponent in the March 3 primary race for the Democratic candidacy, chalks the ad up to the Austin representative's need for better name recognition. 

"We do have very high name ID, as well as branding, and he's attempting to introduce himself to Texans because, while he's been elected for a longer amount of time, he's not been at the forefront of these fights and Texans don't know who he is," the congresswoman said.

Crockett says she has small-dollar donors who don't want her to "waste" their money on advertising, and speculated in her Thursday interview that Talarico has likely spent around $6 million on the primary so far. She also implied that Talarico was behind a recent attack on her campaign by a super PAC which supports the Austin Democrat. 

The other side:

A spokesperson for Talarico's campaign released the following statement to FOX Local in response to that claim:

"Federal law prohibits coordination between political campaigns and outside entities, so our campaign had no involvement with this ad. And when James has the power to change federal law in the US Senate, he will fight to ban super PACs like this one. James has made it crystal clear from day one that he wants to run a positive campaign focused on records and ideas — and that’s what he will continue to do for the rest of this race." 

Federal Communications Commission records don't show ad space purchased by any other candidates. FOX Local reached out to the candidates to find out if they had plans to do so. Cornyn's team said there were no plans to run a Super Bowl ad, and the other candidates had not responded by the time of publishing.

Texas race for U.S. Senate

Big picture view:

The March 3 primary race will decide who will compete in November for U.S. Sen. John Cornyn's (R-Texas) seat. The race has drawn national attention as the Democratic effort to flip an important seat that's long been held by the GOP heats up. No Democrat has won a statewide election in Texas since 1994.

Democrats:

Crockett and Talarico will go head-to-head in March to decide the blue ticket. Recent polling has shown this to be a tight race. 

Crockett is a well-known name in the U.S. House, having made national headlines for fiery comments and very progressive views since winning the seat in 2023. She entered the race late, after the U.S. Supreme Court cleared Texas to use its new congressional district map that favors Republicans, and which reshaped Crockett's current district. 

Talarico has represented a portion of the Austin area since 2018, when he won the race for Texas District 50 — a district that voted for President Donald Trump in 2016. The Presbyterian seminarian has risen to online fame for his composed delivery of sharp retorts and mix of progressive policy and Christian values. He raised $6 million for his campaign within three weeks of entering the race, breaking the fundraising record. 

Republicans:

Cornyn faces current Texas AG Ken Paxton and U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-Houston). Their primary will likely lead to a runoff. Trump has yet to endorse a candidate. 

Cornyn has held the seat since 2002, during which he's chaired the National Republican Senatorial Committee for a four-year span, served as the Republican Minority Whip, and — according to his campaign — voted in alignment with Trump 99 percent of the time. 

Paxton appears to be the favorite of the MAGA crowd, having served as the attorney general for Texas since 2015. The most recent polling shows Republicans favoring Paxton against Cornyn. During his tenure as AG, Paxton has faced a high volume of scandals, most recently involving his divorce from State Sen. Angela Paxton (R-McKinney).

Hunt has represented the 38th congressional district since 2023, and has been in the Senate race since October 2025. Polling shows him bringing up the rear among the Republican hopefuls, with critics worrying he could hurt the GOP's overall chances of holding onto the seat against a strong Democratic candidate in the general election.