There were a few hundred Democrats gathered at a venue called Lofty Spaces in Dallas on Monday, in a sweltering heat that could not hold back the annual Labor Day political rally.And while on the surface all was confidence, when you scratched a little deeper, you struck frayed nerves.Ellen, a retired nurse who sometimes protests in a Statue of Liberty costume, was there, and agreed to an interview if I helped to take her gear to her car, which I would have done anyway, of course.Ellen was optimistic about Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico in his race against Republican Ken Paxton."I feel very good about him, I’m very optimistic, I don’t think Texans are going to vote for a criminal, cheat, adulterer, Ken Paxton," she said.When I pointed out that Paxton, the current state attorney general, had already won statewide elections twice, she smiled and said, "That’s the problem."But not the only problem.
Asked about Talarico’s Senate primary opponent, Rep.Jasmine Crockett, a high-profile Black Texas Democrat who has thus far refused to back Talarico, Ellen said, "I voted for her, and after he won…and she decided she wasn’t going to support him, I was so glad that she lost.JASMINE CROCKETT BLASTS HER TEXAS DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY LOSS AS ‘RACIST RACE'Joanna and Ruth, who are in Ellen's age demo and also very active in the Democratic Party in Dallas, thought Talarico is looking good.,"I’m feeling more encouraged than I have in a really long time, that it is going to flip over," Joanna added, "I’m feeling really fabulous about it too," but again, concerns over Crockett and the Black vote lingered.Rep.
Jasmine Crockett speaks on the Global Black Economic Forum Stage during the 2026 ESSENCE Festival of Culture presented by Coca-Cola at Ernest N.Morial Convention Center on July 04, 2026 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
(Arturo Holmes/Getty Images for ESSENCE)Joanna shared that, "I really hope she gets on board to help with the Black people, because we need...