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Washington Examiner says polls put Talarico at 83% to 85% among Black voters

The Washington Examiner says two recent polls put James Talarico’s support among Black Texas voters at 83% and 85%. The same account says Ken Paxton received 10% and 17% in those polls, while 15%-20% of Black voters still did not support Talarico.

AI-assisted synthesis · Based on 5 outlets' reporting · Article text read from 1 of 5 outletsHow it's made

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5 outlets2 regionsLatest reporting 4 min read
Coverage: MixedL 1 · C 2 · R 1 · 1 unrated
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Photo: H. Michael Karshis / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)

What happened

Key facts

  • The Washington Examiner reported that two recent polls placed James Talarico’s support among Black Texas voters at 83% and 85% (per Washington Examiner).
  • The Washington Examiner reported that Ken Paxton received 10% and 17% in the two polls (per Washington Examiner).
  • The Washington Examiner said 15%-20% of Black voters still did not support Talarico (per Washington Examiner).
  • The Washington Examiner described Talarico’s Senate race as being in its final two weeks and said he had worked for months to close an enthusiasm gap with Black voters (per Washington Examiner).
  • The Washington Examiner reported that Jasmine Crockett endorsed Talarico, while her PAC did not endorse him and she had not campaigned for him (per Washington Examiner).
  • Debra Stark-Howard, speaking in her personal capacity, said Crockett had not supported Talarico and was focused on other races involving African Americans (per Washington Examiner).
  • The Washington Examiner reported that 2024 Democratic nominee Colin Allred received 84% of the Black vote, compared with 12% for Sen. Ted Cruz, according to exit polls (per Washington Examiner).

The brief

Two recent polls put James Talarico’s support among Black Texas voters at 83% and 85%, according to the Washington Examiner. The outlet reported that Ken Paxton received 10% and 17% in those same polls. It said 15%-20% of Black voters still did not support Talarico, a range the article contrasted with earlier reports that about one-third did not plan to back him. The Washington Examiner framed the numbers as a measure of Talarico’s effort to build support among Black voters during the final two weeks of the Texas Senate race. The outlet said he had spent months seeking to close an enthusiasm gap. It described Black voters as a key voting bloc and said the remaining share who did not support Talarico could complicate his route to victory. The article also discussed Rep. Jasmine Crockett’s role. It reported that Crockett endorsed Talarico, but her political action committee did not endorse him and she had not campaigned for him. Crockett told the Houston Chronicle, “I’ve endorsed him 100 times.”

Debra Stark-Howard, identified as speaking in her personal capacity, offered a different account of Crockett’s involvement. Stark-Howard said Crockett had not supported Talarico and was focused on other races involving African Americans. The Washington Examiner did not reconcile that statement with Crockett’s reported endorsement or her quoted description of it. The article placed the polling in the context of prior voting results: in 2024, Democratic nominee Colin Allred received 84% of the Black vote, while Sen. Ted Cruz received 12%, according to exit polls. The outlet said Talarico was on pace to match or exceed Allred’s share, presenting that comparison as a forecast rather than a completed result. The Washington Examiner also quoted Chaplain Richmond Stoglin, a 2024 Texas GOP delegate to the Republican National Committee and president of a Black Republican group, describing Paxton’s outreach to Black voters as a “mixed bag.” The article identified Talarico as the Democratic Senate nominee and said he spoke at a campaign event in San Marcos, Texas, on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026. It supplied no polling methodology or sample details, so the reported percentages cannot be assessed here for those features.

Why it matters

  • Black Texas voters are the population at the center of the reported polling; the Washington Examiner’s figures put Talarico at 83% and 85%, with 15%-20% still not supporting him.
  • The reported 10% and 17% for Ken Paxton indicate how the same two polls measured his support among Black voters.
  • The Washington Examiner links the remaining support gap to Talarico’s effort to build enthusiasm during the final two weeks of the Senate race.
  • Crockett’s endorsement and Stark-Howard’s contrary characterization leave a specific disagreement about whether Crockett supported Talarico.

What to watch next

  • Whether subsequent polling places Talarico’s support among Black Texas voters within or outside the reported 83%-85% range.
  • Whether the reported 15%-20% of Black voters who did not support Talarico shifts before the Senate race concludes.
  • Whether Jasmine Crockett campaigns for Talarico, given the Washington Examiner’s report that she had endorsed him but had not campaigned for him.
  • Whether later reporting clarifies the difference between Crockett’s reported endorsement and Debra Stark-Howard’s statement that Crockett had not supported Talarico.

How it's being covered

Coverage analysisShow details
5 source articles · 5 unique outlets
Outlet political mix: Mixed· 1 Left · 2 Center · 1 Right · 1 unrated
Where the outlets are based: US/Canada 40% · Unknown 40% · Other 20%
Outlet political mix
Mixed
Left
Center
Right
1 outlet
2 outlets
1 outlet
The marker shows coverage balance: each unique outlet counts once. 1 unrated outlet is not included.
Geography
Where the outlets covering this story are based.
5 unique outletsDominant coverage: US/Canada
How we measure coverage

How outlets' accounts compare

Updat3 does not yet have enough full reports to compare how outlets framed this story.

Timeline

Developments from this story's sources, dated background we compiled and fact-checked, and our earlier coverage. Each row says which.
  1. Ken Paxton was elected Texas attorney general.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  2. Ken Paxton took office as Texas attorney general.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  3. James Talarico was elected to the Texas House of Representatives.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  4. The Texas House voted to impeach Ken Paxton.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  5. The Texas Senate acquitted Ken Paxton on the articles of impeachment.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  6. Ted Cruz won re-election to the U.S. Senate from Texas.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  7. Ken Paxton announced a campaign for the U.S. Senate.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  8. James Talarico announced a campaign for the U.S. Senate.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3

How we got here

Black voters have long been a central part of the Democratic coalition in Texas, particularly in large metropolitan areas such as Houston, Dallas–Fort Worth, and the communities around Austin and San Antonio.

Their votes are important to Democratic candidates, but they have not by themselves been sufficient to overcome the state’s broader Republican advantage in recent statewide contests.

Original sources

5 articles from 5 outlets

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