Former Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum criticized Texas Democrat U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico’s campaign strategy, saying the Democrat appears more focused on winning over white and Latino voters than driving turnout among black voters.
Speaking during an episode of the Native Land Pod released Sunday, Gillum said if Talarico’s campaign is truly focused on increasing black voter turnout it would be spending its money differently.
“If the money was on ‘I need to juice black voters and then just get my bare share of Latino and white voters,’ the money would move differently,” Gillum said.
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Gillum argued that Talarico’s campaign was not making full use of Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) to energize black voters.
“So you want to know how much they value [Crockett] as a surrogate? How much paid advertising with her face, her voice, her likeness is being used to close this gap?” Gillum added.
Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) speaks during a field hearing by House Oversight Committee Democrats focused on the Epstein Investigation, Tuesday, May 12, 2026, in West Palm Beach, Florida. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
As Breitbart News previously reported, Crockett said black voters have not fully united behind Talarico since he won the Democrat Senate primary in March. Crockett also said she will skip Texas Democratic Party convention in Corpus Christi, where Democrats are expected to rally behind Talarico’s campaign against Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Instead of attending the convention, Crockett said she plans to spend her time campaigning for down-ballot Democrat candidates across the country. Crockett also cast doubt on whether or not Democrat voters have fully coalesced behind Talarico and the party’s statewide ticket, saying she has not seen much enthusiasm since the primary.
“I’ve not heard a bunch of kumbaya,” Crockett said. “People don’t seem to be convinced at this point, but there’s a lot of time between now and November.”