Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is launching a new political action committee aimed at helping Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico flip the reliably Republican Texas Senate seat in November, according to the @dcexaminer account. The PAC, called Texas Forever, is affiliated with Schumer's Senate Majority PAC — a development that signals national Democrats are treating Texas as a genuine pickup opportunity rather than a long-shot bet.
The move comes as the Texas Senate race tightens on multiple fronts. According to the @WashTimes account, Libertarian candidate Ted Brown is pulling Republican voters away from Ken Paxton, adding pressure on the GOP nominee as Talarico holds a narrow polling lead. The three-way dynamic — a Democrat with a slim edge, a weakened Republican, and a Libertarian siphoning conservative votes — has turned Texas into one of the most closely watched contests of the 2026 midterms.
@GuntherEagleman underscored the stakes, noting that every single U.S. House seat is on the ballot this cycle, roughly one-third of the U.S. Senate, and in Texas voters are also choosing a governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, state lawmakers, judges, and local officials. The account framed November 3, 2026 as a pivotal date for the state and the nation, urging Texans to recognize the scope of what is being decided.
But the most explosive development in the race came from @townhallcom, which published what it described as undercover video of Rev. Jim Rigby — the longtime pastor and mentor of James Talarico. In the recording, Rigby is heard saying, "And I think capitalism is in death rows. I mean, I think it's... You don't have to throw everything overboard. It's like, that's the next chapter of human rights. It's like, life, liberty, pursuit, happiness is not capitalism."
Rigby continued: "That every person has a right to medicine, to a livable wage. Stuff that's not radical. We're the only nation, developed nation, that doesn't have that stuff. And they're calling that communism."
The pastor went on to invoke Marx and the Book of Acts, telling the audience that "Marx was basically quoting the book of Acts," and that Christians fail to recognize the connection because "we're so blind in this culture that we can look at it and just can't see it." He added that "Gandhi and Martin Luther King were democratic socialists" and described democratic socialism as "the next chapter" — "not this horrific thing."
@townhallcom promoted the story as an exclusive, headlining its posts with "TALARICO'S LONGTIME PASTOR CAUGHT TRASHING CAPITALISM!" The story was carried twice by the same account, amplifying the message across the platform.
The pastor's remarks are likely to become fodder for Republican attacks in a state where the word "socialist" remains a potent weapon. Talarico, a state representative from Austin, has positioned himself as a pragmatic progressive, but the video of his mentor praising socialism and declaring capitalism in "death throes" gives the GOP an opening to tie him to far-left ideology. It is not yet known whether Talarico has responded to the video or whether he shares his pastor's views.
Meanwhile, the @NEWSMAX account highlighted a separate but related theme: California Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton telling the network that Californians are fleeing Democratic policies, pointing to years of migration to other states amid concerns over taxes, costs, crime, and the business climate. The story, labeled "CALIFORNIA EXODUS," reinforces a broader Republican narrative that Democratic governance drives people and businesses away — a message likely to be deployed in Texas, where GOP officials frequently tout the state as a refuge from California-style policies. As Texas becomes a battleground for Senate control, the question of which party's governance model attracts or repels residents is set to play a central role.
Also looming over the race is the national Democratic landscape. The South Shore Press reported that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has abandoned her own reelection campaign for Upstate and Western New York hustings, with the report framing the move as preparation for a 2028 challenge to Schumer. According to that coverage, the congresswoman is positioning herself against New York's senior senator with less than forty days until the midterm election. The reported maneuver underscores the internal tensions within the Democratic Party as Schumer works to expand his majority by targeting Texas — a state that has not elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1988.
Schumer's decision to launch Texas Forever is a direct bet that Talarico can accomplish what no Democrat has in nearly four decades. The PAC's affiliation with Senate Majority PAC means it can tap into national fundraising networks and spend heavily on advertising, turnout operations, and opposition research. But the pastor video could complicate that effort, particularly among moderate and religious voters who might otherwise be open to a Democratic alternative to Paxton.
Next News Network could not independently verify the authenticity of the undercover video or the circumstances under which it was recorded. The claims made by @townhallcom about the video's contents have not been confirmed by independent sources, and the full context of Rigby's remarks remains unclear.
The combination of Schumer's financial commitment, Talarico's narrow lead, Brown's Libertarian pull on the right, and the pastor controversy has turned Texas into a volatile and unpredictable contest. With less than forty days until the election, both parties are pouring resources into the state, and the outcome could determine control of the Senate. For Republicans, the task is to unite behind Paxton and prevent Brown from playing spoiler. For Democrats, the challenge is to keep Talarico's coalition intact while deflecting the socialist label that the pastor's words have now made more difficult to shake.
Our Take
The left loves to tell us that socialism is just a misunderstood label — that people who say they want "medicine and a livable wage" are moderates, not radicals. Now we have the receipts. James Talarico's own pastor and longtime mentor, the man who helped shape his worldview, is on video declaring capitalism to be in its death throes and praising Marx. Talarico can try to distance himself, but the American people deserve to know: does he agree with the man who mentored him? The media will bury this story, just as they bury the California exodus, just as they ignore the socialist agenda behind Schumer's Texas Forever PAC. But Texas voters are paying attention. They know that a vote for Talarico is a vote for the same radical ideology that is driving families out of California and into states like Texas. Chuck Schumer's money can buy ads, but it cannot hide the truth. The pastor said what the candidate won't — and Texas deserves a senator who believes in the American dream, not one who was taught to bury it.
