Beto O’Rourke, Joaquin Castro and James Talarico unite to resist Trump in San Antonio town hall

Three high-profile Texas Democrats — all rumored to have an eye on Republican John Cornyn’s U.S. Senate seat — held a town hall at San Antonio’s Stable Hall Friday night, but they didn’t come across as potential midterm rivals. Instead, the trio presented a unified front in opposing President Donald Trump’s agenda.

Energy crackled through Stable Hall for the event featuring former El Paso Congressman Beto O’Rourke, San Antonio U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro and Austin state Rep. James Talarico. A capacity crowd of roughly 1,000 sat in chairs on the ballroom floor and crowded the balcony. Bexar County Democratic Party chairwoman Michelle Lowe Solis kicked off the gathering.

While San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones wasn’t present, former Mayor Ron Nirenberg delivered remarks to resounding applause from the audience. In his speech, Nirenberg made no reference to seeking higher office, but when speaking to the Current afterward, he revealed he’s considering it.

“I am thinking about the future and what my role will be in politics,” said Nirenberg, whose time at City Hall ended due to term limits. “My passion has not gone. No announcements yet, but I’m not done with public service.”

Talarico, 35, was the new blood on Friday’s roster, but he delivered the most stirring speech of the evening, touching on his time teaching language arts on San Antonio’s West Side and growing up poor in East Austin. The lawmaker also took shots at the culture wars of the day, arguing they distract Americans from directing their ire at the billionaire class.

“Immigrants aren’t raising our taxes, Muslims aren’t defunding our schools. The culture wars are a distraction,” Talarico said. “So many of the divisions in this country are manufactured by billionaires who want us fighting each other instead of fighting them.”

Castro spoke next, devoting much of his time to discussing the threats to Medicaid. He related the need for the program to his personal experience battling cancer, which requires a monthly injection with a line item cost of $24,000.

“So, when you talk about not expanding Medicaid in Texas, when you talk about cutting Medicaid in Washington, when you talk about cutting subsidies for the Affordable Care Act, what you’re talking about is not giving people a chance to live,” he said.

O’Rourke followed Castro’s speech, delivering an address that was both rousing and laden with expletives. In one of the most memorable moments, the former presidential, gubernatorial and senatorial candidate called for an end to the genocide in Gaza and a two-state solution. The remarks received a standing ovation.

“What if we weren’t complicit in the bombing and starving of the tens of thousands of Gazans, including children and families, who have done nothing but nothing wrong to deserve this?” he asked the crowd. “And [what if] we use our extraordinary power peacefully, nonviolently, diplomatically to pursue an independent, sovereign state for the Palestinian people?”

“And what if we had a Democratic Party that actually fought for these things?” O’Rourke added at the end, lobbing criticism at the party’s national leadership. With a speech centered on hope, O’Rourke emphasized the importance of not just being against Trump but standing for something and presenting an alternative vision for America.

“It is not enough to define ourselves by who or what we’re against. We must be able to tell ourselves — and our family and our friends and our fellow Americans — just what we are for,” O’Rourke said. “It’s not enough to say who is screwing you and who has screwed up, if we’re not going to propose how we’re going to fix a system that has so badly failed so many of our fellow Americans.”

O’Rourke came within 3 points of Ted Cruz in a 2018 run for senate, the closest a Democrat has gotten in a bid for statewide office in recent memory. The El Pasoan followed it up with an unsuccessful 2020 presidential bid and a run for Texas governor. Despite the string of losses, he demonstrated during Friday’s town hall that he retains star power among Texas Democrats.

O’Rourke also had glowing things to say about the recent primary win for New York City mayoral candidate and Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani. During a press pool following the town hall, Talarico said party elders need to step aside and let the next generation run.

“It’s a pass-the-torch election, and we desperately need it in the Democratic Party and the United States,” Talarico said.

Though none of the headlining political figures announced their candidacy for Cornyn’s seat officially, all expressed interest in exploring their options, ostensibly part of the reason for holding the electrifying town hall. So far, there are only murmurings and insinuations that each of the three might enter the Senate race for which Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton has already entered by running in the GOP primary.

In the press pool, Talarico and O’Rourke took issue with those who have characterized them as potential rivals. Instead, both men emphasized that they’re working together to create a promising future for Texas.

Castro said he’ll soon make a decision soon about running for another office, a step that could mean forfeiting the congressional seat in a Democratic stronghold he’s held comfortably since 2012.

Subscribe to SA Current newsletters.

Follow us: Apple News | Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter| Or sign up for our RSS Feed

This article appears in Jun 26 – Jul 9, 2025.