Eight days before a midterm election, Texans are measuring their politics the way many people measure their lives, by what things cost at the pump and in the store. In a state where no Democrat has won statewide office since 1994, that everyday arithmetic is now stirring talk that James Talarico could break a long pattern. The claim is still a hope voiced by some, not a result, and the old question of whether Texas is truly in play has returned in a new form, carried by the price of gasoline.
High Gas Prices Could Put Texas in Play for Democrats Ahead of Midterms
No Democrat has won statewide in Texas since 1994.
Mark
Why does a story about gas prices belong in a conversation about the Texas Senate race?
Mimi
Because the report ties the two together. Voters are voicing worry about costs, gasoline especially, and that worry is what some people point to when they say James Talarico has a chance.
Mark
And the chance is historic?
Mimi
It would be. No Democrat has won statewide in Texas since 1994, so a Talarico win would end that run.
Luke
Before we get carried away, what does the reporting actually show? I see concern about costs and a belief that he has a shot. I don't see a poll.
Mimi
That's fair. The material says some believe he has a shot. It gives no numbers, no margin, no named voters.
Luke
So the link between gas prices and his prospects is a theory, not a measured effect.
Mimi
Right. It's a plausible explanation people are offering, not something demonstrated here.
Mark
Then what would make it testable?
Mimi
Polling movement in the final week, and ultimately the result itself.
Luke
And even then, a result wouldn't prove gas prices were the reason. That remains unknown.
O Pulso
- Gas prices are hitting Texas voters hard, and their frustration is spilling into the Senate race.
- Talk that Democrat James Talarico could win statewide for the first time since 1994 is rippling through the state's politics.
- Voters and observers are weighing whether cost-of-living anger is strong enough to overturn decades of Republican dominance.
- With the midterms just over a week away, the outcome is still open, and the signal to watch is whether polling begins to shift.
Eight days before a midterm election, Texans are measuring their politics the way many people measure their lives, by what things cost at the pump and in the store. In a state where no Democrat has won statewide office since 1994, that everyday arithmetic is now stirring talk that James Talarico could break a long pattern. The claim is still a hope voiced by some, not a result, and the old question of whether Texas is truly in play has returned in a new form, carried by the price of gasoline.
With the midterms a little more than a week away, Texans are talking about what things cost, and gasoline sits near the top of that list. CBS News correspondent Tony Dokoupil follows that thread into the state's Senate-level politics.
The worry about prices is feeding a possibility few would have taken seriously in recent cycles. Some in Texas now believe Democrat James Talarico has a real chance at a statewide win, which would make him the first Democrat elected statewide there since 1994.
The reporting is careful about its limits. Many voters are expressing concern about high costs, especially gas, and some of them see Talarico as a real option. But it offers no polling, margins, or named voters, and it does not say he is leading. The belief rests on the mood of unnamed people rather than on numbers.
What is clear is that the election is days away, gas prices are a live concern, and a Democrat is being discussed as a contender in a state his party has not carried statewide in more than three decades. The next thing to watch is whether these pressures show up in polls and, ultimately, in the vote count.
With the midterms a little more than a week away, voters across Texas are talking about what things cost, and gasoline sits near the top of the list. That is the thread CBS News correspondent Tony Dokoupil follows in a report on the state's Senate-level politics.
The concern about prices is feeding a possibility that few people would have taken seriously in recent cycles. Some in Texas now believe Democrat James Talarico has a real chance of winning a statewide race. If he did, he would be the first Democrat elected statewide in Texas since 1994.
That date frames the stakes. For more than three decades, no Democrat has won a statewide contest in the state, and the idea that Texas might be competitive has tended to arrive every election season and fade by the end of it. What is different in this report is the reason given: not a shift in national mood in the abstract, but the price at the pump and the broader cost of living that voters say they feel.
The source material is brief, and it is careful about what it claims. It says many Texas voters are expressing concerns about high costs, especially for gas. It says those concerns are leading some to believe Talarico has a shot. It does not say he is leading, and it offers no polling figures, margins or named voters in the portion available here. The belief that he could win is attributed to unnamed people, not established by numbers.
What can be said plainly is this: the election is days away, gasoline prices are a live worry among Texans, and a Democratic candidate is being discussed as a contender in a state where his party has been shut out of statewide office since 1994.
What to watch now is whether those cost pressures show up in the one measure that matters, the vote count, and whether pre-election polling in Texas moves as the final days run out.
Citações Notáveis
Voters' concerns about high costs are leading some to believe Talarico has a shot at winning statewide.— CBS News report by Tony Dokoupil (paraphrase)
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Politics & Governance