Talarico Drops $800K Telemundo World Cup Blitz To Court Texas Latinos

James Talarico is jumping onto Telemundo’s World Cup stage with his first general-election television ad, a Spanish-language 30-second spot that launched Thursday. The campaign says the statewide buy tops $800,000 and is aimed at locking in support among Spanish-speaking voters ahead of November.

As reported by The Texas Tribune, the ad will air on Telemundo during every U.S. and Mexico group-stage match. The buy debuts during Mexico’s opener and will also pop up in several U.S. group games over the next two weeks, according to the Tribune.

"I've pledged to be a senator that represents all 31 million Texans," Talarico said in a statement to The Texas Tribune. His campaign is pitching the Spanish-language spot as direct outreach to the nearly 8 million Spanish speakers in Texas, while stressing his background as a teacher and public-education advocate.

A new Texas Pulse poll, conducted June 1-4 by Texas A&M’s Bush School, ReconMR and Siena Research Institute, found the statewide contest roughly even and showed Talarico with a strong edge among Latino voters. According to Texas Pulse, he led Latino voters by about 12 points and held a net-positive 11-point favorability rating in that group.

Why the World Cup Buy Matters

Telemundo is the exclusive Spanish-language home of the tournament in the United States and is rolling out hundreds of hours of World Cup programming, turning its matches into a high-reach arena for Spanish-language political messaging. According to NBC Sports, the network’s multiplatform World Cup presentation has drawn unprecedented advertiser demand.

Houston's World Cup Spotlight

Houston is one of the tournament’s U.S. host cities, a detail that gives Telemundo ad buys extra local punch as fans crowd into stadiums and fan festivals. FIFA notes that Houston Stadium (NRG) will host multiple group-stage and knockout matches during the tournament.

The Talarico campaign says the World Cup purchase is the first general-election TV buy by either major candidate so far, casting it as an early media salvo. As Click2Houston reports, the Telemundo push is part of broader Spanish-language outreach that the campaign says is powered by record-breaking fundraising.