“In the Ferrari or Jaguar, switchin’ four lanes. With the top down screamin’ out, ‘money ain’t a thang.’” — I suspect that classic Jay-Z and Jermaine Dupri track offers an accurate summation of the vibes at Texas Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico’s headquarters these days, after his campaign announced its quarterly fundraising numbers on Wednesday. 

Talarico’s camp reported raising $27 million in the first three months of the year, a whopping total that speaks to the high profile he has enjoyed as the Texas state senator’s progressive campaign for U.S. Senate has garnered national attention. 

According to a press statement from Team Talarico:

Since launching in September, James’ campaign has now raised a total of over $40 million, receiving more than 970,000 donations from a staggering 540,000+ individual contributors — with donations from 246 of Texas’ 254 counties and zero dollars from corporate PACs. Since primary day, James has raised over $10 million.

Even if the news is promising, some context is in order. It is not uncommon for Texas Democratic candidates, especially those with large national profiles, to raise oodles of money. And fundraising, in and of itself, is no guarantee of victory. Just ask Beto O’Rourke, the Texas Democrat who notched a historic $38 million fundraising quarter in 2018 during his ultimately failed bid to oust GOP Sen. Ted Cruz.

Fundraising numbers like these can be an imprecise metric of a candidate’s viability, especially since we won’t know for a while how many of the donations came from people who live in other states. So having lots of money doesn’t always translate to victory, although it is essential for candidates who aspire to win a massive state like Texas, which has routinely voted for Republican statewide candidates thanks in no small part to conservative-backed voter suppression schemes. 

Also working in Talarico’s favor is the messy, ongoing primary race for the GOP nomination. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and incumbent Sen. John Cornyn and their allies are still expending resources attacking one another. Meanwhile, Talarico, with his primary race already behind him, has been able to focus on messaging for the general election.

Winning in Texas will require “unprecedented resources,” said Seth Krasne, Talarico’s campaign manager. He added that the fundraising haul “puts our movement in a strong position to spread our message in some of the most expensive media markets in the country.”

At the same time, he acknowledged there’s more work to be done to make sure the money amounts to a victory in November. “We can’t take our foot off the gas,” he said.

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