Dozens of TikTok influencers are being paid to post positive clips about embattled Texas Democrat James Talarico ahead of the 2026 Texas Senate election.
A company called Frontier Media is paying creators $4.00 per 1,000 views to post pro-Talerico content, according to the New York Times. In one 24-hour sample of Texas Senate race videos, the paid posts reportedly made up nearly a quarter on the platform.
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Talerico’s campaign told the Times it was not involved with the scheme, however, the funds are untraceable, according to Townhall, because Frontier Media has no FEC filings.
The report comes just a few weeks after an employee for a pro-Talarico PAC was caught on video admitting that the PAC was basically “paying people for their votes” through a “paid relational program.”
Democrats are no stranger to “astroturf” campaign schemes.
In 2024, groups associated with the Harris-Walz Campaign paid social media influencers up to six figures to promote Kamala Harris and publicly switch their votes from Donald Trump to Harris.
When Harris became the nominee, the “precision microinfluencer marketing” company “People First” set up a “creator portal” for influencers to “apply” for the job of promoting Harris. A post on the company’s website, titled “Let’s Win This Kamala,” told influencers to create three posts reflecting their support for Harris to earn the payout.
Democrats also habitually pay “rent a mob” companies to provide large crowds for Democrat protests, events and PR stunts.
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Talerico is locked in a close race for the U.S. Senate against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
The Senate hopeful has been criticized by conservatives for attending a woke, atheistic “Christian” church, claiming “God is nonbinary” and there are six biological sexes, coming out as an anti-meat vegan before claiming to love meat, as well as being a vocal supporter of drag queens, and “transgender youth.”
Additionally, a Talarico campaign worker was recently caught on hidden camera sharing that she and most of her fellow campaign workers are Marxists.
After disappearing from the campaign trail for nearly two weeks, the woke candidate resurfaced on Friday to briefly attend a music event in Austin. The campaign’s insistence that the 37-year-old was simply down with the flu for 12 days, spurred rumors and speculation about his whereabouts online that remain unverified.
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