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James Talarico’s charmed political journey has broken his way at almost every juncture of his career, from “The Joe Rogan Experience” invite as he was weighing a Senate bid last summer to his star turn in Texas’ quorum break to a fundraising windfall over a spiked Stephen Colbert interview in the primary’s homestretch.
But as he gave his not-quite-victory speech late Tuesday night, Talarico faced a more uncertain future than he had hoped. The Associated Press eventually called the election for him hours later, though voting problems in Rep. Jasmine Crockett’s home base of Dallas County delayed the result.
And suddenly, it looks like he could face a much tougher opponent than he’d banked on in the general election.
Talarico and Democrats had hoped for months that the preacher would get to face scandal-tarred Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, but Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), a less objectionable general-election foil, outperformed expectations and fought him to a draw, forcing a runoff.
For the disciplined and studious Democrat who can commit scripture and prepared remarks to memory in a matter of minutes, and who is known by aides to linger over edits to social media posts and ads, the unknown outcome of the runoff is an unwelcome twist, the seemingly rare thing he cannot control.
Even with a 12-week head start on whomever voters select as his opponent in a brass-knuckled, dregs-scraping, cash-consuming GOP runoff, Talarico could still face a four-term incumbent with a long track record of big general-election wins.
Amid a legal dispute over voting precinct hours in Dallas County, Talarico did not quite declare victory in a short speech just after midnight local time, when he was leading the race but before The Associated Press called it.
“We are still waiting for an official call, but we are confident in this movement we’ve built together,” he said after lamenting what he called “voter suppression.”
“We are not just trying to win an election,” Talarico said at his rally in Austin. “We are trying to fundamentally change our politics, and it’s working.”
Earlier Tuesday, a district judge permitted the Dallas County Democratic Party to extend polling hours until 9 p.m. central, but the Texas Supreme Court granted Attorney General Ken Paxton’s request to set aside the votes of those people who were not in line by 7 p.m.
The polling problems are just the latest in a long history of voter suppression and voting rights battles in the state — ones that have particularly impacted Black and Hispanic voters. Crockett first gained national attention as a state representative battling against the Texas GOP’s move to pass a law that added new restrictions on voting, an issue once again in the spotlight as her Senate campaign came to a close.
In a statement earlier in the evening, Talarico’s campaign acknowledged that they were “deeply concerned about the reports of voters being turned away from the polls in Dallas and Williamson counties following the GOP’s implementation of precinct-specific voting locations for Election Day.”
Crockett initially told supporters Tuesday evening there was “a lot of confusion today,” citing Paxton’s move and the state Supreme Court’s decision. But on Wednesday morning, Crockett said in a statement she spoke with Talarico and conceded the race to him.
“This morning I called James and congratulated him on becoming the Senate nominee,” she said. “Texas is primed to turn blue and we must remain united because this is bigger than any one person. This is about the future of all 30 million Texans and getting America back on track.”
Talarico ran well in heavily white and Hispanic areas Tuesday, but has conceded he has work to do with Black voters if he’s going to win in November — an effort that could be complicated by the sour final note of voter confusion.
The final stretch of the contest pitted Talarico’s and Crockett’s supporters against each other in bitter feuds, often along racial lines, that played out on social media platforms like TikTok and X. Those debates focused on whether Democrats believed Crockett, a Black representative from Dallas, could be elected in a deep-red state — as well as over a claim made by a social media influencer that Talarico had described a former opponent as a “mediocre Black man,” comments he says were misconstrued.
Still, his strong performance against Crockett has jolted Democratic hopes of winning Texas for the first time in more than a generation, forging a wider than expected path to flipping the Senate — and out of the wilderness.
“I’d be very worried if I were the national Republican Party after tonight,” said Emily Cherniack, the founder and CEO of New Politics, and a longtime Talarico ally. “Strong turnout, especially among Latino voters, signals real dissatisfaction with Republicans in power. That’s a huge warning sign for November for them.”
Up until Tuesday, Senate Democrats had staked their chances of flipping the Republican-controlled Senate on just four states: North Carolina, Maine, Ohio and Alaska.
But now, some Democrats believe Talarico can cobble together a winning coalition in the most improbable of states — no Democrat has a Senate seat in Texas since 1988 — based on his class-focused message seeking to unite voters across parties.
“A perfect storm is lining up for Texas Democrats,” said Mark McKinnon, the former Texas media operative who started out advising Democrat Ann Richards on her gubernatorial campaigns before switching to Republican George W. Bush in 1997. “They have a nominee who can appeal to moderates and soft Republicans. Talarico could be Moses who leads the Lone Star Democrats out of the desert they’ve been in for 35 years.”
Public and private polls have mostly shown close races in either matchup; Talarico would start off with the edge over Paxton but trail Cornyn.
“It is still a massive mountain to climb, but this doesn’t hurt the effort,” one former staffer on Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign said of Talarico’s win.
Talarico has argued that he can beat either foe.
“I think both of them are extraordinarily weak,” Talarico said in an interview with POLITICO just days before Election Day. “Paxton and Cornyn, they’re different. Paxton was guilty of illegal corruption. That’s why my colleagues and I impeached him in the Texas House.
“But Cornyn is guilty of legalized corruption. He was the deciding vote on the Big, Ugly, Bill which kicked millions of Texas off their health care, took food out of the mouths of hungry Texas kids all to give tax breaks to his donors. Both of them are guilty of using their public offices to enrich their donors — Ken Paxton in an illegal way, but John Cornyn in a legal way. I look forward to prosecuting the case against either of them — whoever makes it out.”
Gregory Svirnovskiy contributed to this report.
Politics
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Best Albums of 1995: 63 Essential Records
With the launch of user-friendly web portals like AOL and Prodigy, 1995 marked a watershed year for the intersection of technology and entertainment. In the mere seconds (and sometimes minutes) that it took to connect to dial-up internet, fans could interact with one another like never before, allowing for a greater opportunity to discover new music from around the globe. What albums were they excited about? In 1995, grunge was in full swing, rap reigned supreme, and the world couldn’t get enough of Britpop. Electronic music and rave culture were making their way into the mainstream, while the raucous sounds of pop-punk permeated the airwaves.
It was a landmark year for women in music, with outstanding solo releases from Alanis Morissette, PJ Harvey, Natalie Merchant, Shania Twain, and Cassandra Wilson, among others, while female-fronted bands like No Doubt, Elastica, and Garbage ruled the airwaves.
From the Foo Fighters’ best-selling debut to 2Pac’s introspective masterpiece, Me Against the World, here are the best albums of 1995.
Can’t get enough 90s music? Listen to our 90s Music playlist here.
63: Filter – Short Bus
Filter got big on the strength of the ubiquitous hit “Hey Man, Nice Shot” and the 1995 album Short Bus delivered more of the band’s signature guitar-heavy alt-rock.
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62: AC/DC – Ballbreaker
Ballbreaker is a fun, riff-heavy blast from the kings of hard-rock.
61: Autechre – Tri Repetae
Taking philosophical cues from the 80s hip hop and acid house that inspired them, Autechre’s Tri Repetae sounds like little else: Complex electronic music that demands multiple listens to unravel.
60: Black Grape – It’s Great When You’re Straight… Yeah!
Britpop meets breakbeats, It’s Great When You’re Straight… Yeah! is a fun, ecstatic, and slightly deranged bit of mid-90s sampladelic rock.
59: Blind Guardian – Imaginations From The Other Side
A brutal and high-energy maelstrom of metal, Imaginations From The Other Side enhances its hard edges with some interesting elements of folk and progressive rock.
58: Primus – Tales from the Punchbowl
A bizarre and fun mashup of metal, funk, and prog rock, Tales from the Punchbowl is controlled chaos and a brilliantly executed fusion of sound.
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57: Dissection – Storm of the Light’s Bane
Dissection’s 1995 album Storm of the Light’s Bane is a blistering heavy metal workout whose fires are tempered with some beautiful melodic moments.
56: Xscape – Off the Hook
Composed of four singers who are all powerful soloists in their own right, Xscape’s strength is in their dense harmonies and sweet, catchy songs.
55: Silverchair – Frogstomp
With its heavy guitars and even heavier vocals, the 1995 album Frogstomp and its standouts “Tomorrow,” “Leave Me Out,” and “Findaway” still hold up beautifully.
54: Suffocation – Pierced From Within
A manic slice of fire and pure brutality, Pierced From Within is the sonic equivalent of an exorcism.
53: The Highwaymen – The Road Goes on Forever
Composed of some of country music’s biggest names, this final album by The Highwaymen was a fitting send-off, with highlights including the title track and “Live Forever.”
52: Cassandra Wilson – New Moon Daughter
A dreamy, and musically rich work, New Moon Daughter was the breakout album that established Cassandra Wilson as one of the greatest jazz vocalists of her generation.
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51: Big L – Lifestylez ov da Poor & Dangerous
A virtuosic MC and magnetic personality, Big L shines on his debut. Unfortunately, his career was cut short when he was killed four years after Lifestylez… was released in 1995. The album remains a beloved classic and a bittersweet glimpse at his potential.
50: A Guy Called Gerald – Black Secret Technology
A riveting drum & bass exploration from 808 State’s A Guy Called Gerald, Black Secret Technology is an Afrofuturist masterpiece.
49: DC Talk – Jesus Freak
Inspired and righteously driven, DC Talk’s Jesus Freak injected 90s alt-rock with a populist, Christian message.
48: Elliott Smith – Elliott Smith
Led by the arresting opener “Needle in the Hay,” Elliot Smith is a heartbreaking record whose power and vulnerability is transformative.
47: Green Day – Insomniac
Snotty, energetic, and anthemic, Green Day’s 1995 album Insomniac is pure pop-punk goodness.
46: Queen – Made in Heaven
The final album created by Queen before the passing of Freddie Mercury, Made in Heaven is a soaring, heartfelt masterwork.
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45: The Orb – Orbus Terrarum
A dreamy and ethereal journey, Orbus Terrarum highlights The Orb’s gift at making electronic music that requires us to reflect on the beauty of the natural world.
44: Blur – The Great Escape
With brilliant hits like “Stereotypes,” “Charmless Man” and “Country House,” The Great Escape helped solidify Blur’s status at the top of the Britpop food chain.
43: Natalie Merchant – Tigerlily
Subtle, soulful, and intentional, Natalie Merchant’s Tigerlily is an emotional powerhouse of a record. “Wonder,” “San Andreas Fault,” and “I May Know The Word” are standout examples of Merchant’s depth and power as a singer.
42: Bruce Springsteen – The Ghost of Tom Joad
Packed full of emotionally arresting and understated moments, The Ghost of Tom Joad is a powerful and underrated addition to Springsteen’s incredibly deep catalog.
41: Jodeci – The Show, the After Party, the Hotel
A slow-burning and sensual exploration of love and desire, The Show, the After Party, the Hotel was not only a classic upon its release, it continues to influence R&B today.
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40: Fugazi – Red Medicine
Distorted, furious, and righteous, Fugazi’s Red Medicine has a hardcore heart with grooves that are funky and hypnotic.
39: Garbage – Garbage
Cutting-edge when it was released, Garbage’s self-titled debut still sounds fresh decades later. The band’s fresh combination of rock and electronica shines while Shirley Manson leads the way with flamboyance and fire.
38: Goodie Mob – Soul Food
With songs like the dystopian nightmare “Cell Therapy” and the transcendent gospel cut “Free,” Goodie Mob’s debut Soul Food proved that hip hop was ready for an injection of southern soul and intellect.
37: Elastica – Elastica
Fiery and anthemic, Elastica is a refreshing 90s take on punk and New Wave.
36: Sonic Youth – Washing Machine
Sonic Youth spent the 90s building a comfortable bridge between the worlds of noise/experimentalism and underground guitar rock. On Washing Machine, songs like “Little Trouble Girl” and “The Diamond Sea” find the band offering up some of their most melancholy and pop-influenced moments.
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35: Moby – Everything Is Wrong
Whether we’re being hit with a blissful dance anthem like “Everytime You Touch Me” or the furious breakbeats on “Let’s Go Free,” Everything Is Wrong is fun, well-executed electronica.
34: Ol’ Dirty Bastard – Return To The 36 Chambers
A bizarro trip into the mind of Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Return To The 36 Chambers is the wildest of the Wu Tang’s early run of classic solo albums.
33: Oval – 94 Diskont
A gorgeous collection of ambient pieces, Oval’s 94 Diskont could be released tomorrow and still sound cutting-edge.
32: Pavement – Wowee Zowee
Bittersweet, rocking, and funny, the 1995 album Wowee Zowee is anchored by moments of genuine vulnerability that poke out from behind the songs’ wry exterior.
31: Buju Banton – ‘Til Shiloh
In addition to the all-time classic reggae cut “Champion,” ’Til Shiloh is pure, unfiltered 90s dancehall.
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30: Supergrass – I Should Coco
Supergrass’ 1995 debut I Should Coco is a remarkable work full of big bold anthems like “Caught By The Fuzz” and the timeless hit “Alright.”
29: Teenage Fanclub – Grand Prix
An infectious, power-pop romp, Teenage Fanclub’s Grand Prix is smart, catchy, and concise.
28: The Pharcyde – Labcabincalifornia
A much more mature and understated record than their debut, Bizarre Ride 2 the Pharcyde, Labcabincalifornia is full of introspective rhymes and lush production from J Dilla, Diamond D, M-Walk, and The Pharcyde themselves.
27: Bone Thugs-N-Harmony – E 1999 Eternal
Coming straight out of Cleveland, Ohio, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony challenged rap’s coastal dominance with an unlikely melding of hardcore gangsta rap, breezy melodic lines, and soulful vocal harmonies.
26: Foo Fighters – Foo Fighters
The Foo Fighters self-titled debut is packed with well-crafted songs that can be sweet and breezy (“Big Me”) or heavy and driving (“Good Grief”). Although the band would go on to have much larger hits, Foo Fighters charted a new path for mainstream rock.
25: D’Angelo – Brown Sugar
Refracting 70s funk and soul through the lens of 90s hip hop and R&B, D’Angelo’s debut was a cultural reset whose influence is still shining.
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24: Basic Channel – BCD
Basic Channel’s BCD is a striking fusion of Detroit Techno-style synthesis and rhythms with the echoed-out ghost of Jamaican dub.
23: Rancid – …And Out Came The Wolves
With its rapid-fire verses and sing-along choruses, Rancid’s …And Out Came The Wolves epitomizes the anthemic nature of 90s punk.
22: Kenny Wayne Shepherd – Ledbetter Heights
With songs like “Shame Shame Shame,” “Riverside,” and “Everybody Gets The Blues,” Kenny Wayne Shepherd’s Ledbetter Heights is full of fiery, contemporary blues jams.
21: The Chemical Brothers – Exit Planet Dust
With its big, bombastic beats and acidic basslines, Exit Planet Dust perfectly captures the sound of mid-90s rave culture.
20: Kenji Kawai – Ghost In The Shell OST
Kenji Kawai’s Ghost In The Shell soundtrack is as grandiose and atmospheric as the classic anime that inspired it. Full of soaring choral vocals and minimalist percussion, the soundtrack is a colorful, compositional feast.
19: White Zombie – Astro-Creep: 2000
Full of big riffs, and daring sonic twists, Astro-Creep 2000 is a bizarre trip into the heart of darkness.
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18: Leftfield – Leftism
Lush, organic, and groovy, Leftism creates a rich musical meeting point where dub, house, and ambient collide.
17: Mariah Carey – Daydream
Featuring enduring classics like “Fantasy” and “Always Be My Baby,” Daydream is pure pop perfection that’s full of soul.
16: Mobb Deep – The Infamous…
Hardcore yet melodic, violent, and introspective, Mobb Deep’s 1995 album encompasses the contradictions and power of New York hip hop in the mid-90s.
15: Jawbreaker – Dear You
Derided upon its release for its clean production and Blake Schwarzenbach’s changed vocals, Jawbreaker’s final album has come to be regarded as one of emo’s finest moments.
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14: Björk – Post
Whether she’s tackling big band jazz (“It’s Oh So Quiet”), head-nodding hip-hop (“Army Of Me”) or minimalist electro-pop (“Headphones”) Bjork’s range and willingness to experiment establishes Post as one of the most eclectic and inspiring pop records of the 90s.
13: 2Pac – Me Against the World
With songs like “So Many Tearz” and the fantastic single “Temptations,” Me Against the World is a harrowing trip into the mind and soul of rap’s greatest poet.
12: Smashing Pumpkins – Mellon Collie & The Infinite Sadness
A nearly flawless double album of heavy rockers and emotionally rich ballads, Mellon Collie… is arguably Billy Corgan and The Smashing Pumpkins’ greatest artistic achievement.
11: Goldie – Timeless
With its beautiful string arrangements and cutting-edge production, Timeless was the most ambitious dance music record of its day. Cuts like “Inner City Life” and “Khemistry” make a strong case for drum & bass as soul music and the 90s expression of the Black British experience.
10: Pulp – Different Class
With funny and insightful tunes like “Common People” and “Disco 2000,” Jarvis Cocker and Pulp created a Britpop classic for the ages.
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9: Tricky – Maxinquaye
A watershed moment in 90s popular music, Tricky’s debut combined hip hop, soul, dub, and punk and came out with a collection of songs that were practically burning with emotional power.
8: PJ Harvey – To Bring You My Love
Sharp as barbed wire yet tender and vulnerable, PJ Harvey’s To Bring You My Love is one of the rawest and unfiltered artistic statements of the 90s.
7: No Doubt – Tragic Kingdom
No Doubt’s Tragic Kingdom is a phenomenal 1995 album packed with beloved songs like “Don’t Speak,” “Just A Girl,” and “Sunday Morning.”
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6: Radiohead – The Bends
With The Bends, it can be argued that Radiohead had long mastered rock before they reinvented it. Songs like “Fake Plastic Trees” and “High And Dry” are tried and true hits, but they’re still brilliant and powerful.
5: Oasis – (What’s The Story) Morning Glory?
“Wonderwall,” “Don’t Look Back in Anger,” “Champagne Supernova” and more, (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? is an era-defining classic that is packed with hits.
4: Raekwon – Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…
A surrealist crime novel masquerading as a rap album, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx’s dusty, sample-based beats are animated by Raekwon and Ghostface’s complex, slang-heavy, narrative-breaking wordplay.
3: Shania Twain – The Woman in Me
Impeccably written and produced, the 1995 album The Woman in Me is a gem of a pop-country record. Shania Twain holds it down with some outstanding vocal performances.
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2: Alanis Morissette – Jagged Little Pill
A smash hit when it arrived in 1995, the album Jagged Little Pill distilled the angst and power of 90s alt-rock into a single collection of perfectly crafted songs.
1: Genius/GZA – Liquid Swords
Pulling its inspiration from martial arts films, Liquid Swords is not only a literary feast, its beats and GZA’s stoic demeanor throughout give the record a hard and dark edge.
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Can’t get enough 90s music? Listen to our 90s Music playlist here.
Discover more about the world’s greatest R&B artists | uDiscover Music
Sen. John Cornyn defied expectations in the Texas GOP primary on Tuesday. National Republicans believe his unexpectedly strong showing may be enough for President Donald Trump to endorse the embattled incumbent.
Trump has privately intimated that he will soon get involved in the Texas Senate race after rebuffing endorsement pleas from both candidates for months, according to a GOP strategist close to the White House who was granted anonymity to speak freely. For months, party leaders worried that Trump would back state Attorney General Ken Paxton, a longtime ally of the president, especially if he dominated in Tuesday’s primary.
Then came the results that had Cornyn neck-and-neck with Paxton. With that outcome, the strategist said, it would be “very surprising” if Trump backed Paxton.
The stakes are high for Republicans, who fear control of the Senate is hanging in the balance. The GOP hoped to avoid state Rep. James Talarico clinching the Democratic nomination because they see him as able to draw away moderate Republican voters.
Republicans “should take him seriously,” said another close Trump administration ally, granted anonymity to be candid. Talarico is a “big reason for Trump to get in for Cornyn and end this thing,” the ally said, especially to free up massive amounts of money that could be spent instead on competitive Senate races in Michigan and Georgia.
National Republicans estimated they would have to spend $200 million to protect Cornyn in the runoff. But the GOP strategist shrugged off the price tag. “Look, it will probably cost some money,” the person said. “It’s just money, we have a lot of it.”
Tuesday’s results were the best-case scenario for establishment Republicans, who worried Cornyn would finish far enough behind Paxton that it would be a slog for him — and a tough sell for a president who hates to back losers.
The Texas GOP Senate primary has become a referendum on the future of the Republican Party, testing the strength of the conservative grassroots against the establishment wing. While the MAGA base kept the four-term incumbent — who nearly became Senate majority leader — from getting a majority of the primary vote, the results show the old Republican establishment isn’t quite dead yet.
Cornyn’s narrow lead over Paxton was powered by even performances across the state.
Even in the most heavily Republican counties where Paxton might have expected to benefit from a MAGA base, the incumbent senator largely held his own: Across more than 110 mostly rural counties that Trump won by at least 50 points in 2024 and were reporting complete results as of early Wednesday morning, Paxton built up only the narrowest of leads, 44 percent to just shy of 40 percent for Cornyn.
Meanwhile, Cornyn strengthened his advantage in the more traditional white-collar suburbs, leading by double digits in Travis and Dallas counties as results continued to come in early Wednesday morning.
The senator, speaking to reporters on Election Night in Austin, said Republican voters’ choice is “crystal clear.”
“I refuse to allow a flawed, self-centered, and shameless candidate like Ken Paxton risk everything we’ve worked so hard to build over these many years,” he said. “There is simply too much at stake.”
Republicans are well aware that overall control of the Senate may be at risk. Cornyn’s allies warn that scandal-plagued Paxton turns off general election voters, especially if Talarico is their opponent.
During Paxton’s decade as attorney general, he faced an impeachment by the GOP-led Texas state House, ethics complaints, a federal securities fraud investigation and a recent divorce complete with allegations of infidelity.
Now Paxton is facing another 12 weeks going up against the wrath — and war chest — of the Washington establishment.
“John Cornyn spent around $100 million trying to buy this seat,” Paxton told his supporters at a watch party after the race was called. “We spent around $5 million… We prove something they’ll never understand in Washington: Texas is not for sale.”
One question is which candidate the voters who backed Rep. Wesley Hunt, who finished a distant third place, will support now — or whether they turn out at all for the May runoff.
Lone Star Liberty, a pro-Paxton super PAC, in a memo circulated ahead of Tuesday’s election, shrugged off threats that Cornyn would succeed in the runoff by continuing to hammer the attorney general on his litany of scandals, arguing they had nothing new to offer.
“Cornyn’s talk of ‘unleashing’ new attacks’ in the runoff is bluster,” the memo states. “The truth is that from day one, his forces fired every bullet they had. There are no new attacks left — only more of the same, at ever-greater cost and with ever-diminishing returns.”
Senate Republican operatives – who had entered the night expecting the race to head to a runoff, but unsure of how Cornyn would track against Paxton – were exultant as the incumbent maintained a narrow lead well into the night.
A Republican working on Senate campaigns, granted anonymity to speak freely, said Cornyn “proved to be formidable” on Tuesday — bolstering the establishment GOP argument that he is “the most electable” as the party braces for a battle against Talarico.
Talarico’s lead “reaffirms the need to have Cornyn as the nominee. Can’t risk this to Paxton,” the GOP operative close to the White House said.
Yet some Republicans conceded Cornyn has a tricky path to navigate. He’ll have to square off again with the conservative primary voters who make up Paxton’s base.
“Runoffs are extremely unpredictable, and head-to-head it could be anyone’s ballgame,” said Republican strategist Jeff Burton.
Dasha Burns, Lisa Kashinsky, Alec Hernandez, Jessica Piper and Erin Doherty contributed reporting
Politics
Though renowned for the splendor of their meticulously hand-sewn headdresses and suits, New Orleans’ Mardi Gras Indian tribes fundamentally represent solidarity, community, and resolve. Their origins may be traced at least as far back as the 1800s, when Native Americans – under punitive threat by federal authorities – sheltered and abetted enslaved African descendants seeking freedom. When pre-desegregation African-Americans were banned from (white) Mardi Gras Krewes, they paraded as Mardi Gras Indian tribes, commemorating their bond with Indigenous peoples. As New Orleans’ population evolved, they began to absorb Caribbean influences within their ritual costumes, dance, and music.
The latter’s Creole patois call-and-response chants and persuasive rhythms represent a true hybrid of cultures – like so many things distinctively New Orleans. By the mid-1970s it was also due for proper documentation. Chief Bo Dollis’ Wild Magnolias had already released well-regarded recordings fusing Mardi Gras Indian vocals with band backing. But George Landry, AKA Big Chief Jolly, founder of the Wild Tchoupitoulas, was positioned to do something even more special. Landry’s nephews just happened to be the city’s first siblings of soul and funk, Art, Charles, Aaron, and Cyril Neville. Art’s band, The Meters, were the most rhythmically revolutionary funk outfit this side of James Brown’s original JBs, and had long served as studio musicians for revered producer Allen Toussaint.
Listen to The Wild Tchoupitoulas self-titled album now.
That they all converge on the Wild Tchoupitoulas’ self-titled 1976 album alone makes it a milestone. That it also organically connects the dots between the disparate strains of the city’s musical heritages makes it one of the most wondrous representations of New Orleans ever recorded. As chief, Landry largely assumes front and center. His baritone – suitably raspy, considering his lyrical boasts of Mardi Gras Day fire water consumption – leads his other tribesmen and the Nevilles through festive rallying cries touting the superiority of the Tchoupitoulas’ suits, style, and panache in face-offs against rival tribes (the exuberant “Indians Here Dey Come” and “Big Chief Got a Golden Crown”; the ceremonial majesty of “Indian Red”). A lilting reggae groove with a calypso-inspired melody, “Meet De Boys On De Battlefront,” in particular, functions as both a chronicle of Carnival pageantry and a toast to the fierceness, in all respects, of the tribe and its ancestors: “I’m an Indian ruler from the 13th ward/Blood shief-a-oona I won’t be barred/I walked through fire and I swam through mud/Snatched the feathers from an eagle, drank panther blood.”
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Providing the perfect counterbalance are the tracks more prominently featuring the Nevilles. A cover of The Meters’ “Hey Pocky Way” beautifully blends the brothers’ group harmonizing (Aaron’s unmistakable high-pitched timbre cutting through) with drummer Ziggy Modeliste’s signature second-line rhythmic riffing. “Brother John,” penned and sung by Cyril, exalts John “Scarface” Williams – Apache Hunters Indian and former singer with bandleader Huey Smith – who was killed breaking up a knife fight in 1972. Cyril would later describe the tribute to author David Ritz as an expression of “that weird mixture of violence and beauty that was part of our R&B street life.” He might very well have also been describing an album as unique as anything in the NOLA musical canon, whose joyous realization was generations in the making.
Listen to The Wild Tchoupitoulas self-titled album now.
Discover more about the world’s greatest R&B artists | uDiscover Music
State Rep. James Talarico won the Texas Senate Democratic primary, defeating Rep. Jasmine Crockett and giving party leaders the candidate they had quietly seen as the stronger option to flip the ruby-red state.
The race was defined by questions of electability and simmering racial tensions, as Talarico and Crockett worked to reassemble the party’s fractured multiracial coalition. That carried over through Tuesday, with both candidates raising concerns that voters had been disenfranchised in Crockett’s home base of Dallas County, which includes a large number of Black voters.
The legal dispute over voting precincts in Dallas could cast a shadow over his victory. Crockett told her supporters not to expect a final call on election night. But on Wednesday morning, Crockett said in a statement she spoke with Talarico and conceded the race to him.
“This morning I called James and congratulated him on becoming the Senate nominee,” she said. “Texas is primed to turn blue and we must remain united because this is bigger than any one person. This is about the future of all 30 million Texans and getting America back on track.”
Talarico, a progressive Seminarian, took a big-tent approach to his campaign by appealing to voters from both parties and independents. He will face off against either Sen. John Cornyn or Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is mounting a right wing challenge to the four-term incumbent.
Texas Democrats have failed to win statewide in three decades, but they believe they have a rare opening to flip the Senate seat in November, due to backlash to the Trump administration’s mass deportation efforts and handling of the economy — especially if Paxton emerges from the GOP runoff.
There has been scant nonpartisan public polling in the general election, but a recent memo from the National Republican Senatorial Committee shows Cornyn ahead of Talarico by three points, while Talarico would lead Paxton by three points.
Gregory Svirnovskiy contributed to this report.
Politics
Scandal-embroiled Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) on Tuesday was forced into a runoff election after weeks of backlash to reports alleging he had an affair with a former staffer, who later took her own life.
He will face Brandon Herrera — a 2nd Amendment influencer who goes by “TheAKGuy” on social media — in late May. That sets them up for yet another expensive and prolonged contest like they experienced in 2024, when Gonzales prevailed by one percentage point.
Gonzales, who has represented the west Texas district since 2021, has faced calls to resign from several of his GOP colleagues after new evidence emerged of his alleged affair. Gonzales previously denied the affair and repeatedly said he would not step down.
Gonzales’ South Texas district favors Republicans, but could potentially become competitive should Hispanic voters sour on the GOP this cycle or stay home. Even with the scandal, House GOP leadership declined to rescind their endorsements of Gonzales and were content to wait and see how the voters decided.
“There’s a primary there in less than a week, these things will play out,” Speaker Mike Johnson said recently.
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Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) was ousted by a primary challenger who successfully cast the four-term incumbent as anti-Trump and capitalized on a redrawn district.
State Rep. Steve Toth — who had the backing of Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) — beat Crenshaw on Tuesday night, all but assuring his seat in Congress given the district’s safe-red bend.
Crenshaw was the only incumbent GOP representative in Texas without President Donald Trump’s support and had at times split with the president, including in his criticism of Trump’s refusal to accept his 2020 election loss.
And Toth, with Cruz’s help, focused his campaign on casting Crenshaw as insufficiently conservative for the district, which was redrawn in the GOP’s recent Texas redistricting push.
“You deserve an unwavering fighter, a Republican who walks the walk,” Cruz said in a recent ad for Toth.
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