Talarico has made strides to lock down black voters. They could still cost him the Texas Senate race

Democrat James Talarico heads into the final two weeks of his pivotal Texas Senate race after months of working to close an enthusiasm gap with black voters, a key voting bloc that could complicate his path to victory in much the same way GOP rival Ken Paxton is struggling to unite the Right.

Talarico has made crucial headway to minimize what used to be nearly a third of black voters who said months ago they did not plan to support the state representative, but recent polling suggests he still lacks backing from 15%-20% of the cohort that overwhelmingly tends to side with Democrats.