The Morning Briefing: Texas Soy Boy Talarico Is Giving Dems Premature Electoral Elation

Top O' the Briefing

Happy Thursday, dear Kruiser Morning Briefing friends. Ustrumbricz was the surprise hit of the cul-de-sac Spring Potluck with his peanut butter-vodka deviled eggs and accordion renderings of the entire Christopher Cross catalogue.

For most of the 21st century, the Great White Whale in the Democrats' fever dream has been their "Turn Texas Blue" fantasy. In recent memory, this has given us such luminaries as Wendy Davis and the fakest fake Latino in the history of fake Latinos, Beto O'Rourke.

On the one hand, I am usually a big fan of these efforts because they're such monumental wastes of money for the Democrats. The Texas races become national affairs and Dem donors from all over the country hemorrhage cash that could be spent on winnable contests elsewhere.

On the other hand, I know how good the Democrats are at playing the long game. I never rule out the possibility of them eventually getting what they want, no matter how long it takes.

This year's Turn Texas Blue drama star is James Talarico. Talarico has positioned himself as a throwback Dem moderate, a departure from the present day Dem craziness. It's completely disingenuous, but the Democrats' flying monkeys in the mainstream media are dutifully playing along with the charade.

Here are some expamples of this wingnut's lunacy from a post that my HotAir colleague Beege Welborn wrote:

ICYMI

Here is a small sampling of James Talarico psychotic statements.

There is no way anyone can convince me Texans will vote for this freak over Paxton. pic.twitter.com/3FaHC5LAvq
— Spitfire (@RealSpitfire) May 19, 2026

Super normal and not at all an out of touch weirdo like the other Democrats, right?

Look, the nation owes Talarico a debt of gratitude for ushering Jasmine Crockett off of the American political stage, but we don't need to reward him with a six-year term in the United States Senate for it. At the moment, that possibility doesn't seem as far-fetched as it should.

Beege reports Talarico — who she hilariously refers to as "Texas Opie" — is currently polling fairly well against both of his possible Republican opponents, incumbent Senator John Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Beege also notes that the polling numbers probably reflect the fact that Republican voters are a bit caught up in the Cornyn-Paxton runoff race, and I think she's right.

Talarico's moderate shtick means little in the context of 2026 Democratic Party politics. It just means that he's more boutique Eurotrash socialist than full on Castro Cuba Commie. He's trying to pass himself off as a Texas normie all the while yammering on about needing to stop eating meat to save the planet. That's a classic example of not reading the room.

President Trump threw some humorous shade at Talarico yesterday, which Catherine wrote about:

Speaking with the press outside his presidential motorcade, Trump declared, “We have a great candidate, I believe, in Texas, and I believe that Texas candidate, who's Ken Paxton, I think he'll win, probably he'll win very substantially.”
Switching from talking about the primary to the main Senate election, Trump continued, “And I think he'll go on to defeat a very defective [Democrat] candidate, a candidate that believes in six genders, and he takes hits at Jesus Christ, and he's wearing a mask six months ago. Anybody wearing a mask six months ago doesn't get it. And he's a vegan. He's a vegan in Texas. And you can't get elected as a vegan in Texas.”

My gut feeling is that, polling be damned, the only way Mr. Meatless can win the general election is if the runoff battle between Cornyn and Paxton becomes so acrimonous that the loser's supporters stay home on election day. Then again, a year ago my gut would have told me that the city that was attacked on 9-11 wouldn't elect a ragingly antisemitic radical Muslim as its mayor, so we're going to need a big grain of salt for this one.

Talarico is almost certainly a ticking time bomb behind his centrist façade, just salivating at the prospect of getting into the Senate and becoming Prog of the Year. If he wins, he'll be another poster boy for the repeal of the 17th Amendment. Here's hoping that the Republican voters in Texas haven't gone all emo on us.

Contributions to the Mailbag of Magnificence can be sent to [email protected]

Click the button to get the Morning Briefing emailed to you every weekday. Have your coffee with me, people. It's free, and it supports conservative media!

The Mailbag of Magnificence

This note from Andrew M. kicks things off today:

Kruiser, I was convinced that Trump could win in 2016, convinced he did win in 2020, and convinced that they wouldn't allow him to win in 2024. The difference: The RNC. Trump took it fully over in the summer of 2024 and did exactly what he should've done in 2020: used the RNC to send in more lawyers than Carter has(had) liver pills! I heard last week that they are gearing up for a repeat performance this November. That's the ONLY thing that gives me hope. And if you had told me 5 years ago that the RNC would be our Obi Won Kenobi.... I would've asked for 1 of your brownies.

I guess I should have been clearer yesterday. When I speak or write about the Republican Establishment, I am mostly referring to the Republican National Committee. It is strange and wonderful that President Trump made the RNC functional. I remember talking to Reince Priebus a couple of months before the 2012 election and asking him how the GOP was going to do with get out the vote efforts on election day. "We're going to crush it." All of the RNC's chips were on an app called "Project Orca," which was a spectacular failure because they hadn't tested it much. I completely gave up on the RNC until Trump put his people in for the 2024 election. Let's hope the changes stick for years.

M.B. writes:

It has long been a frustration to me that I'd vote for a *theoretically* conservative Republican only to see him get to DC and start spouting "bipartisanship". I didn't vote for him to pal around with the left, I voted for him to WIN for the right. There simply aren't enough facepalms on the internet to adequately cover this situation.

In a congressional context, bipartisanship is a filthy and offensive word.

We'll wrap up with this from Wanda:

Stephen, I have indeed seen an echidna in the wild. It walked across the path in front of me in Carnarvon Gorge in Eastern Australia, as I crept down to a pond in hopes of spotting platypuses, which I also saw. According to their local forest service, seeing the platypus in the wild makes me some sort of nature-whisperer, because nobody ever sees them. I woke the next morning, laughing out loud, in response to the kookaburras flying by, also laughing out loud. If you have never been to Australia, you should go. The wildlife is worth the trip.

I'm glad you saw all of the fun stuff and didn't have any violent kangaroo encounters. I've read that the spider situation there is impressive as well, but I'm used to those. Unfortunately, I've not been to Australia yet, although it's high on my bucket list. The closest I've gotten was when Kevin Downey Jr. and I were touring the South Pacific for Armed Forces Entertainment doing shows for the troops. I've actually looked into spending a month or two there and working remotely during the Southern Hemisphere summertime. Yeah, the hours would be whacky, but it's not like I've had much experience with normal people work days.

Thanks for keeping in touch, you guys are the best!

Everything Isn't Awful

Cats give great side eye.

Cat: “Girl..this is embarrassing.” pic.twitter.com/O9NDYv2R73
— Why you should have a cat (@ShouldHaveCat) March 15, 2026

The Kruiser Kabana

Kabana Gallery

Meadow with Houses in Background #artbots #gerstl pic.twitter.com/LTtL3DrHe1
— Richard Gerstl (@richardgerstl) May 9, 2026

Kabana Comedy/Tunes

Hallelujah! The late-night Democratic Party cheerleading program known as The Late Show with Stephen Colbert is coming to an end tonight. I figured this would be a perfect time to feature a couple of clips from when Late Night television was fun. I'm including a Craig Ferguson clip to illustrate that it wasn't that long ago that the genre was still entertaining to watch.

A Friendly Reminder Bonus

POTUS Press Today

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
05/20/26

DAILY GUIDANCE AND PRESS SCHEDULE FOR
THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2026

In-Town Pool
TV Corr & Crew: NBC
Secondary TV Corr: Newsmax
Photos: AP, AFP, NYT, Reuters, Getty
Print: USA Today
Secondary Print: The Guardian
Radio: NPR
New Media: Daily Signal

EDT:
9:00 AM In-Town Pool Call Time

8:00 AM THE PRESIDENT participates in Executive Time
The White House
Closed Press

10:00 AM THE PRESIDENT receives his Intelligence Briefing
The White House
Closed Press

11:00 AM THE PRESIDENT participates in an Announcement with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
Oval Office
White House Press Pool

12:30 PM THE PRESIDENT participates in a Lunch with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
The White House
Closed Press

2:00 PM THE PRESIDENT participates in an Ambassador Credentialing Ceremony
Oval Office
Closed Press

3:30 PM THE PRESIDENT signs an Executive Order
Oval Office
Closed Press

Become part of the PJ Media VIP party by subscribing here. Use promo code KRUISERMB to receive a WHOPPING 60% discount. Trust me, we’re having fun over here.