Seven short days ago, Austin politician James Talarico was scheduled to appear on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. He flew to New York, headed to the famous Ed Sullivan theater in which CBS’ late night host tapes, and filmed his segment. Then all hell broke loose. The FCC said The Late Show was not following the equal time mandate. CBS pulled the segment from the air. It ended up online. There was public outcry. Even Stephen Colbert was pissed, and didn’t try to hide it during subsequent tapings.
All of this was actually great news for James Talarico.
The Late Show’s Loss Was Talarico’s Gain
Honestly, I've thought very little about James Talarico in the days since The FCC and Stephen Colbert got into the public spat. This is true despite us following the coverage closely and reporting on various aspects of CBS and Colbert’s back-and-forth. James Talarico was simply the man in the chair the FCC wanted to make an example of. But back at home in Texas, people sat up and paid attention to the member of the Texas House of Representatives, who is currently running against fellow Democrat Jasmine Crockett in the U.S. Senate race.
Reports indicate that in the two days following his appearance on The Late Show, James Talarico landed new donations in the ballpark of $2.5 million dollars, as confirmed by his campaign. The number of people Googling who he is and what he stands for in politics also spiked after this appearance, which was additionally put up on YouTube.
After Talarico spun himself as the underdog, Jasmine Crockett spoke out about her feelings on the impending race, noting to CBS News that cash injection should have been helpful for her opponent.
I’m always going to run like I’m behind, because to me that’s the only way to win. I will say that getting a $2.5 million dollar injection of cash in one day, that doesn’t put you behind, that’s for sure. That puts you in a good position. And having a SUPER PAC that is spending, I think at this point, 6 million on your opponent, doesn’t feel like an underdog position either.
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert has had a more political bent for years, and Les Moonves was previously candid it was a strategy for the show. Unlike some of the other late night shows, Colbert's is a little less pop culture-oriented, though he still has actors, actresses and singer on often. However, when the producer reached out to James Talarico, I'm not sure anyone saw this whole sequence of events coming.
Things have been pretty heated on The Late Show since, but it's been heated for a while given CBS unceremoniously cancelled the show. Still, it’s interesting this particular fire was lit thanks to an appearance on Colbert's show most people never saw. Now, if only more people in need of notice and/or cash injections were pulled from the 2026 TV schedule thanks to an FCC mandate...
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