Live updates: Talarico talks healthcare with ally Mark Cuban, campaigning Democrats divided over Harris endorsements

Mark Cuban — the billionaire investor and former owner of the Dallas Mavericks — is set to appear alongside Texas Senate candidate James Talarico (D) in Fort Worth Saturday evening, where the pair will discuss healthcare monopolies in a live podcast event.

The conversation comes one day after Talarico and Cuban announced their joint “Breaking up Big Medicine” plan, an initiative backing proposed antitrust legislation targeting the healthcare industry and looking for ways to lower prescription drug prices, among other goals. The effort will specifically target the 16.7% of Texans that are uninsured, according to their press release.

While recent polls suggest Talarico is leading Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R), his opponent is wielding a President Trump endorsement. Trump visited Texas earlier this week to attend a Republican National Convention event raising funds for the GOP candidate.

Cuban’s new partnership with Talarico aligns with his company’s, Cost Plus Drugs , mission: cutting out pharmaceutical intermediaries and reducing drugs prices.

Democratic candidates in competitive election races are taking different tacks this cycle over how close to affiliate themselves with former Vice President Kamala Harris, who’s lent her support to many of them but whose loss in the 2024 election has made her a more polarizing figure.

Iowa state Rep. Josh Turek (D) and former Rep. Mary Peltola’s (D-Alaska) Senate campaign both have declined or voice frustration with Harris’s endorsements. Turek said he didn’t want Harris to campaign for him, while Peltola’s campaign pushed aside Harris’s fundraising email that was sent out earlier this month.

During Talarico and Cuban’s event, Trump will simultaneously attend a meeting with his super PAC, MAGA Inc., at his National Golf Club outside of Washington D.C. According to Politico, the committee may be sitting on upwards of $400 million in campaign funds for GOP candidates ahead of November’s midterms.