Featured Voice: Representative James Talarico, TX Candidate for US Senate
Cracking. Packing. Stacking. Hijacking. Kidnapping.
Do you know what those terms mean – or how they determine who will represent your community’s interests?
Cracking
Cracking splits a group of like-minded voters across multiple districts so they never make up a majority in any one district. Their voting power is diluted, even if they are numerous overall.
Packing
Packing concentrates a group of voters into a single district in overwhelming numbers. While that group can easily win that one seat, their influence is reduced everywhere else.
Stacking
Stacking combines several groups of voters who tend to vote differently into one district to overwhelm a targeted community’s voting power. It’s often used to drown out a specific group’s influence by adding voters with opposing preferences.
Hijacking
Hijacking redraws district lines to force an elected official to run in a new district or against another incumbent, weakening their chances of reelection or pushing them out altogether.
Kidnapping
Kidnapping moves a strong candidate’s home address out of their existing district through redistricting, making them ineligible to run in the district they currently represent.
In short: these tactics don’t change how people vote – they change which votes count, and where.
If you didn’t know, you’re not alone. A 2021 Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation survey found that only 4 in 10 Americans could pass a basic citizenship test, with widespread confusion about the roles and responsibilities of different levels of government. That confusion has real consequences.
Here in Dallas, we’re part of a troubling national pattern. Texas ranks 47th in voter turnout and 44th in voter registration. In the May 2025 Dallas County elections, just 6.81% of registered voters cast a ballot, placing Dallas among the lowest of major U.S. cities for voter participation. Low turnout, however, is only the most visible symptom of a deeper challenge: many of us don’t have clear, usable information about how our government works – or how to engage with it in meaningful ways.
This confusion isn’t accidental or benign; it functions as a barrier to power. The Annenberg Public Policy Center’s Civic Knowledge surveys consistently show that only about 1 in 4 Americans can name all three branches of government, and even fewer understand the distinction between state and federal authority. At the same time, the Johns Hopkins SNF Agora Institute found in 2023 that 89% of Americans believe civic education is important. We know this knowledge matters—but many people are unsure where to find trustworthy information or how to use it in everyday civic life.
Streets & Seats was created to close that gap. It began with 20 Days of Civic Cheer to close out 2025 – twenty reasons why all eligible adults should Participate. Register. Vote.
[I]f I’m wanting to be a Senator for all Texans, it means that I need to be hearing from all Texans in this campaign, and it’s on me to show up and make sure I’m listening.
ReP. james talarico
The most immediate way to start is through conversation. Real, accessible, ongoing conversation- with elected officials, curious youth, working parents, and concerned everyday South Dallas residents. Yet only 23% of Texans say they regularly discuss politics with friends or family, ranking Texas 50th in the nation. That silence is costly.
For the first conversation, a Rep. James Talarico joins the discussion to explore why conversations about civics matter – especially now. This inaugural discussion sets the tone for Streets & Seats: civic engagement starts with conversation, and everyone has a role to play.
Q: In the [Grio] article, you talked about respect. What does that mean? What should respect look like from voters, other politicians, and different perspectives in the political sphere?
A: To me respect means treating Congressman Crockett like the statesman and leader that she is. It means focusing on substance, not personal attacks. And it means calling out racism and misogyny whenever they rear their ugly head, and we’re gonna be doing that on this campaign.
Q: Congresswoman Crockett has very strong support with the Black community. With you demanding respect for her, how do you plan on reaching out to Black voters this campaign season?
A: I have a lot of work to do to introduce myself to Black voters across the state and earn their trust. The polling so far has shown that about half of Black Texans don’t know me or my record of defeating Republican extremism. So that’s on me to make sure that I’m introducing myself. I’m going to be continuing to reach out and show up and listen. I’ve met with Black business leaders in Dallas, Black community leaders in Houston, Black faith leaders in Austin, and that’s just the beginning. I understand the historic nature of Congressman Crockett’s candidacy, but if I’m wanting to be a senator for all Texans, it means that I need to be hearing from all Texans in this campaign. If I’m going to be the nominee for this party going into this election, I’m gonna need to be partnering with Black voters across the state of Texas to win in November.
Q: There was a reference in one of the stories about going into the “lion’s den.” Can you expand on that description and what that looks like for the Democratic Party as a whole going forward to the midterms?
A: I’m a daredevil when it comes to politics. I like being in hostile territory. It’s why I like to go on Fox News. I went on Joe Rogan’s show over the summer, and just yesterday I went on the YouTube show “Surrounded” and sat down in an unscripted debate format with 20 undecided Texas voters. For me, this campaign is about going everywhere and talking to everyone. I’m not going to write off any voters, whether they’re in my party or outside my party. I’m going to make myself available to every single community around the state. Politics is very personal – it’s all about connection. I originally got elected by flipping a Trump district in the Texas state house by building connections with people in my community and trying to bring people together across partisan divides, racial divides, gender divides, religious divides, and see people as human beings. That requires honesty and vulnerability and effort on my part as the candidate.
Q: You mentioned that you don’t think older generations understand the damage being done to the country. Do you have particular examples of that lack of understanding?
A: I think that older generations certainly understand the damage being done in the country. What I said was I don’t think they understand how that impacts young people’s experiences. One particular example is housing. I was in a meeting with some of the Gen Z members of my team, and I used the expression “a starter home” and all of them had this blank look on their face. They hadn’t even heard of it. I explained it was the idea that there are these cheaper, more affordable homes that you buy when you’re in your 20s or maybe in your 30s that help you start to build wealth, and it was just a foreign concept to them. I couldn’t even quite understand how Gen Z really approached this issue of housing and how they felt locked out of this part of the American dream. We’re trying to have an intergenerational conversation, and we have to understand that there are limitations on our experiences, and we don’t always understand what different generations are going through.
Q: What do you suggest can be done to foster a deeper understanding and shared purpose between the generations?
A: This all comes back to connection – getting off our phones, getting off social media, and meeting each other in real life. It’s why I’ve been holding these in-person events all over the state. There’s something about being in the flesh and blood with people. We are social animals, and we need that in-person connection to really understand and connect with each other across our differences. I really worry about how we’re all disembodied on these social media platforms and how technology dehumanizes us and hurts human connections and relationships. So I’m a big believer in in-person events, in-person organizing, and that’s why you see such an emphasis on that kind of in-person campaigning from our campaign.
Q: You seem very comfortable connecting through scripture. Can voters, particularly Gen Z, draw on faith as an active tool for change? Does that align with social progress?
A: Absolutely. The word religion means literally to ‘re-ligament’ (L. religare), to reconnect us into one body. I feel like we need that now more than ever. I would suggest that we should all take inspiration from the Black church in this regard, because the church has used faith to be able to fight for social change and social progress. If you’re going to fight for that kind of transformation, you have to be rooted in something more timeless. Black faith leaders and the Black church generally has shown us how you can do that, even through very dark and difficult times. So I think we can all take inspiration from that example as we move into this difficult period in our country’s history.
Q: How can Gen Z understand civic engagement as more than just politics, but rather something that shapes our everyday lives?
A: My granddad was a Baptist preacher growing up, and I was taught that politics is just another word for how we treat our neighbors. When we use the word politics, we often think of parties and partisanship and candidates and votes, but politics is something much more fundamental than that. Politics is about how we all learn to live together in peace and we’re all very different and we all have different needs. We have to remember that the purpose of politics is to love our neighbors. And that love can be uncomfortable sometimes, especially when some of our neighbors are trying to hurt other neighbors. But if we can remember, if we can keep love at the center of our civic engagement, I think it becomes something much more transformational.
Q: What’s one habit – small, daily, real, tangible – that people can start doing now to strengthen their civic power?
A: I say prayer, and I don’t mean just for those who are formally religious or belong to some church or synagogue or temple or mosque, but I think anyone can participate in a kind of prayer. You can call it meditation, call it silence, but taking a little part of your day, whether it’s in the morning or in the evening, or maybe different times throughout the day, to center yourself, to connect yourself to God or the universe, however you want to describe it. I think it’s essential to doing this work. We have to be rooted in something much deeper than the news of the day. Because if you’re not, it’s really easy to burn out. My prayer life has been transformational for me. And I would strongly urge anyone – even if they’re not religious – to think about what a prayer practice would look like for them.
This discussion came on the heels of recent national coverage scrutinizing tone, tactics, and treatment in Texas politics, especially as race, gender, and power collide in high-stakes races. Listen to a clip here.
RESOURCES
DW Streets and Seats is about more than elections. It’s about understanding power systems, demystifying civic structures, and reminding communities that politics shapes everyday life.
That idea sits at the heart of this new series.
We invite you to share your voice by completing this survey Streets & Seats surveys will explore themes of :
- What does respect look like in practice?
- Who is being heard, and who still isn’t?
- And how might our civic life change if we chose connection over convenience?
This is the first of many conversations. DW Streets and Seats invites you in. Not just to read, but to engage, respond, and help shape what comes next.
Important Reminder:
Click to complete a new voter application here.
Dallas Weekly has been a trusted source of news in North Texas for more than six decades. Its legacy includes elevating voices often overlooked in mainstream media, contextualizing local policy decisions, and creating a platform for dialogue within the African American community and beyond.
The EDvocate Group, a Dallas based organization with national reach, brings a complementary mission rooted in strategic storytelling, civic education, and community advocacy, with a particular focus on families and the systems that support children – early childhood programs, public schools, community development, and transportation.
Together, the two organizations are pioneering a new model of civic engagement that goes beyond reporting the news called Streets and Seats.