On Wednesday evening, US Senate Candidate James Talarico held a campaign stop at Baylor University’s Hurd Welcome Center. In November, Talarico will face Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for the Texas’s senate seat in a race The Cook Political Report now rates as a “toss up.”
McLennan County has not voted for a democrat in almost a decade, when Chet Edwards was last elected to Congress in 2008. In 2010, Edwards lost by 5 percentage points to republican Bill Flores. Now, Democrats in county-wide races get about a third of the vote.
“ The people at the top are terrified of this movement that we're building in Texas. They are terrified of crowds like this at Baylor University,” Talarico told the crowd of about 1,000 Baylor students, staff and faculty gathered Wednesday.
Talarico spoke briefly about the importance of affordability, addressing corruption in politics, and what he calls the “new American Dream.”
“We deserve the chance to chase our dreams. We deserve the chance to pursue happiness,” he said. “That’s how it used to be in this country, and it can be that way again.”
Talarico’s event was one of the first times Baylor has allowed a campaign event on campus, a shift university spokesperson Lori Fogleman says is to better align with its 2023 strategic plan, “Baylor In Deeds”.
“As an academic institution, Baylor is committed to ensuring open dialogue and the robust exchange of ideas and perspectives,” Fogleman said in an emailed statement. “We hold this commitment along with an obligation to provide a safe and nurturing educational environment within a caring Christian community.”
Allowing politicians on campus, she said, provides the opportunity for students, like Political Science senior Arianna Rodriguez, to hear more about candidate’s individual goals before heading to the polls in November.
“ I came because I actually have a few questions for Talarico himself, especially when it comes to immigration reform and, um, Medicare here in Texas, as well as a lot of other issues, of course, on abortion and other things that are kind of very controversial at this time,” Rodriguez said before the event started.
Others, like Senior Biology major Kaitlin Propes, said they were just excited to have the opportunity to hear Talarico on campus.
“ The Waco area doesn't really have a whole lot of Democratic opportunities. It's a lot of Republican opportunities. So it was just really good to see some (on campus),” Propes said.
Fogleman said Paxton’s campaign was given the same opportunity to visit campus, but was unable to make any of the dates work for a visit.
Got a tip? Email Molly-Jo Tilton at Molly-jo_tilton@baylor.edu.
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