For Success at the Polls, Dems Look to the Pews
PUBLISHED: February 18, 2026
THEY HAVE THE FAITH. Now they just need the majority.
As Democrats scope out the emerging midterm landscape, party strategists and officials have grown excited about the number of candidates for whom religion is a major part of their biography and identity.
The most prominent so far is James Talarico, the middle school teacher turned Texas state representative running for U.S. Senate. The grandson of a Baptist preacher, Talarico is an outspoken Christian and an aspiring Presbyterian minister.