“I can pour it into a beer glass?” suggested a bartender in a sparkly tank top. Behind her, a printer hums as it spits out ticket after ticket, until the trail grazes the sticky floor.
When the Collin County Democratic Party and Blue Texas — the just-launched Democratic strategy initiative that vows the next election will be the one where Democrats win big in the Lone Star State — selected Bottle Rockets Bar in Plano to host the state representative from Round Rock, they didn’t know 1,400 people would register to attend. Just over 40% of Collin County voted for Kamala Harris in the 2024 election, and the area is home to some of Texas’ most conservative, like Attorney General Ken Paxton.
But Ruth Price, a 74-year-old McKinney resident, believes people are “fed up” with the way Republicans are running the state. Tuesday afternoon’s rally was a first foray into Democratic organizing for Ruth and her husband, Marlin. (“Like the fish,” they both say.)
“We feel like it’s our duty,” Ruth told the Observer. “We have five grandkids, and they have to live here longer than us.”
A retired Dallas police officer, Marlin said he first learned about Talarico while scrolling through Instagram reels posted to Facebook. The representative, a former middle school teacher, gained notice during the legislative session after arguing against a law that would require the Ten Commandments to be hung in classrooms. A clip posted to TikTok, where Talarico grills the bill’s House sponsor on her knowledge of the actual commandments, was viewed more than three million times.
One of those videos intrigued Austin podcaster Joe Rogan, whose podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, has long been one of Spotify’s most listened to. It’s a long show — generally two and a half hours of unscripted interview as Rogan converses with the guest of the week. Rogan asked Talarico to come onto the show, and Talarico said yes, even though Democrats seemed leery of jumping fully into the podcast sphere during the last election.
WATCH: “If being anti-gay was really central to Jesus’ ministry I’d think he would’ve said something about it.”
— The Tennessee Holler (@TheTNHoller) July 18, 2025
TX Rep @jamestalarico, grandson of a Baptist preacher, talks to Rogan about Republicans politicizing Christianity, and why government forcing religion on us is wrong. pic.twitter.com/1edvxJIwgg
Since being posted last Friday, the podcast video has garnered 648,000 views on YouTube alone. There’s no saying how many times it’s been listened to on Spotify. On Instagram reels, a clip of Talarico telling Rogan about how his Christianity intersects with his pro-choice beliefs has been viewed two million times.
“He’s a Christian,” Marlin says, when praising Talarico. “I know he’s wanting to be a pastor, but we need more like him in politics.”
The Buzz
By the time Talarico enters Bottle Rockets Bar, the place is standing room only and sweltering.A gap forms in the crowd as he walks to the center of the room while waving to onlookers who are peering down from a second-floor deck. He stands on a small step stool, and for 12 minutes, it is like every person in the room is transmitting their hopes for Texas, for the country, onto this man. In return, he assures the crowd, “We can do this, together.”
“The culture wars are a smokescreen. So many of the divisions in this state and in this country are manufactured by wealthy special interests who want us fighting each other instead of fighting them,” Talarico says, and the crowd screams in approval. “They divide us by race, by gender, by culture, by religion. They work so hard to keep us from seeing all that we have in common. They work so hard to keep us from realizing that there is far more that unites us than divides us.”
Talarico will give the same speech, about division and unity, right and wrong, and what it means to be a Christian who embraces the idea of loving one’s neighbor, again in about 20 minutes at the bar the next block over.
So many people registered for the event that an overflow venue wasn’t an ambitious “what if” scenario, but a necessity. As soon as Talarico finishes speaking, an especially devoted portion of the crowd funnels out of the bar and into the one down the road, hoping to see the speech twice.
“He’s just so impressive, you know?” says one woman to her gaggle of friends.
A member of the Talarico campaign told the Observer they’re “thrilled” with the turnout for the event. For more than a thousand people to attend a rally on a weekday, a rally for a state representative who isn’t from the area in a non-election year, is virtually unheard of. The campaign staffer said there was interest in the event when it was first announced, but registrations “skyrocketed” after the Rogan podcast was released.
I just held a rally in Plano, TX — a red part of the state — and 1,000 people showed up.
— James Talarico (@jamestalarico) July 23, 2025
Many said it was their first political rally ever.
There’s something happening in Texas… pic.twitter.com/dW5E6XBKyR
“This is a phenomenon,” he says, sweaty from running between the two bars.
“Two thousand years ago, when that barefoot rabbi saw the powerful few abusing the many, he walked into the seat of power and flipped over the tables of injustice,” Talarico says at the end of his speech. “His love rose to meet abuse without becoming it. To those who love democracy, to those who love our neighbors, it's time to start flipping tables.”
Turning Texas Blue
This isn’t the first or the second time a young, up-and-coming Democrat has branded themselves as the fresh new face Texas needs to finally swing blue. But when Talarico speaks, there isn’t an ounce of cynicism in the room.As the hype surrounding Talarico has grown, many have urged him to consider a run for a higher office. In the Texas House, Democrats are outranked 62 to 88, which makes it nearly impossible for Democratic priorities to get passed without wrangling Republican support, Talarico told Rogan. At the end of the hours-long conversation, the podcaster went as far as to tell Talarico he should run for president of the United States.
“We need someone who is actually a good person,” Rogan said.
Still, addressing reporters Tuesday evening, Talarico says he is focused on serving the constituents who elected him to the Capitol. Maybe it’s just a coincidence that, a few days ago, someone registered the internet domain name “TalaricoForSenate.com.” The landing page tells visitors it’s “Launching Soon.”
For Eddie Delgado, an organizer with Indivisible Fort Worth, a chapter of the national organization Indivisible, which helped put together Cowtown’s “No Kings” parade, Talarico represents a “big piece of the puzzle” for Democrats moving forward. Delgado wore a Zohran Mamdani T-shirt to the rally and said he believes the New York City mayoral hopeful and Talarico represent the party’s future.
“It feels like the establishment Democrats and the ones that have been here for a very long time almost have this air about them of looking down at the people,” Delgado told the Observer. “And [Talarico] looks at it, from my experience and what I've learned about him, as how can I help the people, kind of like Zohran [Mamdani]. … Talarico, Zohran, they’re making it about the people.”
Like seemingly everyone else in attendance, Delgado also found himself impressed with Talarico’s appearance on Rogan.
Even before Talarico finished his second speech, a line for photos wrapped around the Scruffy Duffies bar.
Emma Ruby
As Talarico finished his second speech delivery at a bar called Scruffy Duffies, a line had formed that wrapped around the building. It was 95 degrees outside, but the people wanted a photo with Talarico. When he emerges from the pub, they cheer, and even more people spill out into the line of Texans hoping to shake the representative’s hand and share their story.
Delgado was anxious to meet Talarico — he wanted to ask him to come to Fort Worth next.
Later, Talarico told the Observer that it was young people like Delgado whom he was hoping to reach by going on Rogan’s podcast. Part of the whole “meeting people where they are” thing that politicians always say but rarely do.
With a laugh, he admitted that he was nervous in the days leading up to his Rogan debut.
“It’s a two-and-a-half-hour interview; I wasn’t given a list of topics. I mean, I was going in blind. And that’s scary for anybody,” Talarico said. “But this moment of crisis calls for people with courage who are willing to get outside their comfort zone and have difficult conversations with people who may not agree with you, and that's what I try to do."
