Black men could play a critical role in the outcome of the U.S. Senate election in Texas, where Democrat James Talarico, a state representative, is in a highly contested battle against Ken Paxton, the state’s current attorney general.
According to exit poll data from the Associated Press, 34% of Black men in Texas voted for Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election. It’s part of a trend: the U.S. president’s upset victory over Kamala Harris was driven by a coalition that included a modest share of Black men shifting to the political right.
As Talarico works to shore up the Black vote in the Lone Star State, a coalition of Black strategists is hoping a coordinated messaging ad buy targeting Black men can sway them to vote for Talarico on Nov. 3.
“Texas has more Black people than any other state in the country, and so as the place where we have the largest number of Black voters, it was critical that we make sure their voices will be heard in the election,” said Quentin James, founder and president of The Collective PAC, which joined Vote to Live Action Fund and a team of Black strategists for the ad campaign targeting Black men.
James said the 2024 revelation that some Black men were persuaded to vote for Trump caused the coalition to think about how to “reverse” the trend and how they could “make sure Black men’s voices are heard” in this midterm election cycle.
The specialized political advertisements address issues such as the two-tier justice system, health care affordability, and social debates. Rather than featuring Talarico or other prominent Democats, the ads center on everyday Black men discussing the issues, all while using messaging intended to resonate with them.
In one ad, “Under the Hood,” a Black man fixing his car talks to another Black man about being able to afford insulin for his father thanks to Talarico’s bill in the Texas state legislature, which capped insulin at $25. “One of them down in Austin actually did his job,” says the man. “The teacher. Talarico.”
Another ad, “Paxton v. Hervis,” attacks Ken Paxton for prosecuting a Black man, Hervis Rogers, in Houston for voter fraud in the 2020 election. Rogers, who waited in line for six hours, was formerly incarcerated and did not know that he was ineligible to vote under Texas law. He faced a sentence of 2 to 20 years in prison before a judge dismissed the case.
The Collective PAC ad notes that Rogers’ bail was set at $100,000, while Paxton, who was charged with fraud and impeached for bribery and abuse of power, was given bail of just $35,000. “Paxton believes in a system rigged to keep Black people in check, while the rich and powerful remain untouchable,” says a Black male voiceover in the ad. “Time’s up for the rigged system. Vote James Talarico.”
Democratic strategist Ashley Etienne, a former communications director for Kamala Harris and Nancy Pelosi, who is working with the coalition of strategists, tells theGrio that the ads are intended to address “Black grievances.”
“Many of these voters are feeling like they don’t have a home,” said Etienne.
Many of the political ads are based on data compiled and analyzed by HIT Strategies, a polling research firm that focuses on Black and brown voters. Polling data on Black men, conducted by HIT Strategies, found that Black men ages 18–45 do not fit rigid partisan boxes. While a majority lean left-of-center, about 20% identify as Independents and 20% as Republicans, with “family values conservative” ranking as a strong identity. The May poll also found that 1 in 4 Black men say they were not certain or unlikely to vote.
Terrance Woodbury, president and founding partner at HIT Strategies, previously told theGrio that Black men, particularly younger Black men, have emerged as swing voters. Data from the firm’s Black Opps Project showed that 42% of young Black men said the policies of the Trump administration haven’t helped or hurt them.
Woodbury said there was an “urgency to connect the dots” between actions taken by Trump and Republicans and the things that Black men care about, like health care and other things that may “limit opportunities, resources and programs for [them] and [their] family.”
Another pro-Talarico ad, “Backyard Cookout,” dives into the anti-trans push by Republicans, a divisive political issue that was potent in the 2024 presidential election but has since fallen flat with Black voters.
“Man, why is everything so messed up right now?” says a Black woman in the ad featuring two Black men, one of whom is cooking in a backyard.
“Cause they always got somebody new for us to blame. Now it’s trans kids,” says the first Black man. The other adds, “That’s the game. Keep us beefing so we don’t see who really screwing us over.”
“Exactly. The top 1% cashing out, but Trump and them worried about the wrong 1%,” says the Black woman.
“Man, I’m trying to figure out how I’m gonna pay this rent,” says one of the Black men, as the other says, “That’s why we need Talarico running this.”
“If he about that, I’ma rock with him,” says the woman.
James of The Collective PAC told theGrio it was important to address the trans issue head-on.
“The trans community is not the enemy that we should be thinking about,” he argued.
While it is an issue that comes up in barbershops and hair salons, and Black communities have “questions and varying thoughts on it,” James says it shouldn’t be “used as a weapon” to say Democrats and Talarico are “trying to take resources away from our community and give it to other communities.” He added, “That isn’t the issue.”
Whether or not Talarico is successful on Nov. 3, James said he hopes the political ads become a blueprint for the Democratic Party and how it engages Black men in future elections. Still, he believes there will be “increased engagement” from Black voters in Texas, particularly Black men.
“We need to do this across the country in 2027 and 2028,” he told theGrio. “We do hope it is replicated and used as a model of how to do this work right.”
