may be causing Texas residents to experience a bit of déjà vu. Once again, a rising star Democrat has become a media idol. And once again, familiar headlines about the red state possibly going Democratic are surfacing.
Talarico, a 36-year-old state representative, defeated Rep. Jasmine Crockett in last weeks Democratic Senate primary and will try to become the first Democrat since 1988 to win a . Talarico has emerged as the latest Democrat to be framed by the media as having a shot to “turn Texas blue” or spark a “blue breakthrough,” as some have even suggested he could make Texas a true battleground.
But Texas Democrats have dreamed big before and seen it all fall flat, on both the presidential and state election levels.
Wendy Davis, who became a feminist hero for her filibuster in favor of abortion rights, used her fame to catapult her to the Democratic nomination for the 2014 Texas gubernatorial race. The mainstream media was quickly enamored, as ABC News called her an “overnight national Democratic celebrity,” TIME wrote that “her sudden stardom raises hopes that she could be the one to break Republicans 14-year choke hold on statewide offices,” CBS News called her a “rising star” and Davis was referred to as an “overnight sensation” on NBC News. Â
The pink Mizuno Wave Rider 16 running shoes Davis wore for a marathon filibuster when she was a state senator were even glamorized by multiple outlets, such as BuzzFeed, which published a story, “The 11 best Amazon reviews of Wendy Davis’ filibuster sneakers.”
Despite the glowing coverage, tidbits of Davis origin story eventually came into question, and she was easily defeated by Greg Abbott in 2014, a wave election year for Republicans. Davis lost by 20 points in the most lopsided defeat in a governor’s race in Texas since 1998.
It only took four years for the media to find its new darling in the , though: Beto O’Rourke, a three-term congressman from El Paso, who decided to challenge Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas.
ORourke was propped up as a cross between a rock star and John F. Kennedy, who could miraculously be the first Democrat to win a statewide office in Texas since 1994. The press fawned over ORourke so hard that seemingly every mainstream publication in America published a glowing feature.Â
Headlines included Vanity Fairs “Meet the Kennedyesque Democrat Trying to Beat Ted Cruz,” Rolling Stones “Beto ORourke: Ted Cruzs Punk-Rock Problem” and Esquires “Who Is Beto ORourke? Meet The Man Democrats Hope Is The Next Obama.”
Town and Country called him a “a Kennedyesque longshot in a roiling red state,” TIME declared, “Elderly voters sometimes tell him that he reminds them of John F. Kennedy” and BuzzFeed insisted, “Beto ORourke could be the Democrat Texas has been waiting for.” Â
CBS News published an article headlined, “O’Rourke could mean blue wave hits deep red Texas in Senate race,” MSNBC carried on about ORourkes path to victory and TIME asked, “Can Beto ORourke Turn Texas Blue?”
In a strong environment nationally for Democrats â 2018 saw the party win back the House in President Donald Trump’s first term â O’Rourke set a record for votes cast for a Democrat in Texas with over four million. Yet it wasn’t enough to beat Cruz, who won by 2.6 points to clinch re-election.
The loss nevertheless made O’Rourke a sensation and convinced him to join the crowded 2020 Democratic presidential field. In an infamous Vanity Fair cover story that featured photographs taken by the renowned Annie Leibovitz, O’Rourke said he was “born to be in it,” which irked even liberals who found
