杰西·贝代恩 詹姆斯·塔拉里科，德克萨斯州民主党参议员候选人，将于周四与支持者举行集会。他作为黑马候选人，力争成为30多年来首位赢得全州选举的民主党人，目前正进入竞选的最后几周。
JESSE BEDAYN James Talarico, the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Texas, is set to rally with supporters Thursday, as his underdog bid to become the first Democrat to win statewide in over 30 years heads into its final weeks.
过去几个月来，围绕塔拉里科竞选的全国性讨论已经发生变化。起初，这位州立法者被视为过去几年众多民主党候选人中的最新一位，他们曾让党内对翻转德克萨斯州充满希望，但这种希望在选举日到来时便遭到挫败。
The national conversation around Talarico’s campaign has evolved over the past months. Initially, the state lawmaker was considered just the latest of several Democratic candidates over the past years who gave the party a brimming hope of flipping Texas, only for that hope to deflate come Election Day.
如今，塔拉里科被视为有望击败共和党候选人肯·帕克斯顿赢得该席位的真正竞争者。他目前的成功部分归因于选民对帕克斯顿的担忧，帕克斯顿过去曾因腐败问题受到质疑，包括被德克萨斯州立法机构内的本党弹劾。后来他被宣告无罪。
Now, Talarico is seen as a real contender to win the seat against Republican candidate Ken Paxton . Talarico’s success so far can partly be chalked up to voters’ apprehensions toward Paxton, who faced questions in his past over corruption , including being impeached by his own party in the Texas legislature. He was later acquitted.
塔拉里科在筹款方面也远远领先于帕克斯顿，第三季度筹得惊人的6400万美元，他的竞选团队将此描述为参议员候选人的纪录。
Talarico has also far outpaced Paxton in fundraising, bringing in a whopping $64 million in the third quarter, which his campaign described as a record for a Senate candidate.
一个旗帜性的共和党州转向蓝色（即民主党控制）的前景，不仅让民主党人欢欣鼓舞，也让共和党人感到警觉。无论谁获胜，都将有助于决定哪个党控制参议院，在唐纳德·特朗普总统任期最后两年，这将使特朗普的政令要么畅通无阻，要么陷入调查和反对的泥潭。
The prospect of a flagship Republican state turning blue doesn’t just fill Democrats with glee and Republicans with alarm. Whoever wins will help determine which party controls the Senate in President Donald Trump’s final two years in office, making it either smooth sailing for Trump or a bog of investigations and opposition.
周四在奥斯汀以南的小城市圣马科斯举行的集会，紧随本月早些时候九天前塔拉里科因流感淡出公众视野。他的缺席引发了网上的一阵阴谋论，包括错误声称他正在俄亥俄州的一家心理健康治疗中心接受治疗。该说法被保守派社交媒体影响者传播，但在接受更仔细的审查后很快站不住脚。
The rally Thursday in the small city of San Marcos south of Austin follows nine days earlier this month when Talarico was out of the public eye due to the flu. His absence sparked a swirl of conspiracies online, including the false claim that he was at a mental health treatment center in Ohio. Shared by conservative social media influencers, the claim quickly fell apart at closer inspection.
塔利卡罗既是神学院学生，也是州议员，他也一直在走一条非常谨慎的道路——尽可能保持非党派——从已经倾向民主党的大都市出发，沿着上次选举中由蓝转红的边境城镇前进，直至抵达共和党在高原和沙漠地区的农村腹地。
Talarico, a seminarian and state representative, has also tread a very careful path — as nonpartisan as he can — from the major metros that already tilt Democratic, along the border towns that flipped from blue to red last election, and to the rural Republican high plains and desert.
塔利卡罗与前总统乔·拜登的政府以及他自己的党保持距离，而尽管进步派参议员伯尼·桑德斯本月将来到德克萨斯州，他不会与塔利卡罗同台。
Talarico has distanced himself from former President Joe Biden’s administration and his own party, and while progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders is coming to Texas this month, he won’t be sharing a stage with Talarico.
塔利卡罗的策略是直接针对选民表示他们最关心的问题：多年来一直不可逆转地增长的成本。
Talarico’s strategy is to take direct aim at what voters say they are most concerned about: the costs that have inexorably grown for years.
特朗普和共和党人非常清楚塔利卡罗与选民建立联系的能力，以及帕克斯顿在原本对共和党来说相对容易的选举中难以立足的困境。总统已经多次前往德克萨斯州为帕克斯顿助阵，而参议院领导基金——共和党的领导层超级政治行动委员会——已在为他宣传的广告上花费超过1.24亿美元。
Trump and Republicans are well aware of Talarico’s ability to connect with voters, and Paxton’s struggles to find purchase in what would otherwise be a relatively easy race for a Republican. The president has made several trips to Texas to rally for Paxton, and the Senate Leadership Fund, the GOP’s leadership super PAC, has spent over $124 million on ads promoting him.