Texas Democrat Senate candidate James Talarico headed to Manhattan Monday to hobnob with Wall Street financiers, Hollywood donors, and a jewelry designer who called the United States a “shithole.”
The September 28 fundraiser comes with a $27,000 top ticket price — a steep ask for a candidate who markets himself as a “people powered” movement to “take back Texas.”
The money, though, isn’t coming from Texas.
According to the Texas Tribune, more than 55 percent of Talarico’s campaign contributions came from out-of-state donors. Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton, by contrast, received 82 percent of his funding from Texas.
“James Talarico has to flee the Lone Star State to find donors willing to fund his flailing campaign.”
The Manhattan event’s host committee reads like a who’s-who of coastal elite donors: Charles Alaimo, a managing director at Group One Trading; Cedomir Crnkovic, former managing director at D. E. Shaw & Co.; and Charles Myers, founder of Signum Global Advisors and former Hillary Clinton adviser.
Also on the list: Jane Rosenthal, cofounder of the Tribeca Film Festival, who has lived in a $40 million Manhattan condominium, and Bill Derrough, a corporate banker at Jefferies.
Then there’s Alexis Bittar, the jewelry designer and filmmaker listed among the hosts.
Bittar, whose jewelry has been worn by Michelle Obama, is a major bundler for progressive Democrats. He cohosted a fundraiser for Michigan Senate candidate Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed earlier this year and backed New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s campaign.
In a June Instagram post supporting Democratic Socialist Claire Valdez, Bittar wrote, “Hey people … it’s voting time!!! Bringing in all the Democrat Socialists!! Let’s change America.”
He appeared in an August video with El-Sayed declaring, “the traditional Democrats have one foot in the grave!! The revolution has begun!”
Bittar has also criticized Zionists and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, suggesting their influence could prevent El-Sayed from winning.
In an interview published shortly before America’s 250th anniversary, Bittar called the country a “shithole.”
He also produced a documentary about the American flag with filmmaker Bruce Cohen, telling Forbes: “It’s become such a symbol of aggression, the American flag, like ‘we’re coming for you’ during Trump’s era. How tragic is this, like this is where we’re at that the ultimate symbol of the United States, is now used as a weapon to bifurcate?”
Bittar, who said in a 2016 interview that both of his parents were socialists, also created an advertising series featuring a fictional female serial killer named Amanda Gates. The videos depict an actress portraying Gates strangling a male victim while wearing Bittar’s jewelry.
“I am always intrigued by people who kill.”
Republican National Committee spokesman Zach Kraft told Breitbart News: “It should be no surprise that James Talarico has to flee the Lone Star State to find donors willing to fund his flailing campaign. Talarico’s plan to abolish oil and gas, replace ranching with lab grown meat, and force sex changes on little kids would destroy Texans’ way of life.”
Monday’s Manhattan event follows a string of Hollywood fundraisers. Earlier this month, Grey’s Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes and Lost co-creator Damon Lindelof hosted a Brentwood fundraiser for Talarico and Sen. Jon Ossoff. Tickets ranged from $1,000 to $27,000.
Talarico’s campaign has also fundraised with Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, the billionaire Hyatt hotel heir.
Actor Robert De Niro and actress Gina Gershon are expected to attend Monday’s event. Former Sen. Sherrod Brown is also on the bill — a fitting pairing, given Breitbart News previously reported Brown has received nearly $4.9 million from Wall Street-affiliated and wealthy donors despite repeatedly criticizing those same interests.
De Niro recently participated in a Constitution Day video alongside actors Jamie Lee Curtis, Noah Wyle, and Martin Sheen, reciting an oath to “support and defend the Constitution” ahead of the midterm elections.
The event is scheduled to take place at an undisclosed location in downtown Manhattan.
Robert De Niro is headlining a joint fundraiser for James Talarico and Sherrod Brown later this month, per invite. pic.twitter.com/iXuMMF7rCO
— Teddy Schleifer (@teddyschleifer) September 19, 2026
