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James Talarico Offers a Lesson for Democrats

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Jonathan Last: “The lesson is that Talarico codes as moderate because he looks like a youth pastor and leads with his faith. But if you were grading him by issue sets, he sits closer to Bernie Sanders than, say, Tim Ryan.”

“And Democratic voters noticed. Talarico ran up huge margins with Hispanic voters and I’m guessing that’s because he spoke to their religious convictions. But he also ran up huge margins in counties that were Bernie-curious in 2016. He gathered a coalition of progressives, Hispanics, and college-educated professionals—which is 3/4ths of the Democratic base. The only group he didn’t win over was African Americans.”

“A Democratic candidate who could hold the Talarico coalition while also adding African Americans would be formidable in 2028.”

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About Political Wire

goddard-bw-snapshotTaegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.

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