State Rep. James Talarico (D-Austin) is an underdog for U.S. Senate, but his name is already being whispered as a potential 2028 vice presidential candidate.

Why it matters: The mere suggestion reflects just how stratospheric Talarico's rise has been — and how desperate Democrats are to win Texas' electoral votes.

What they're saying: "If Talarico wins the seat against the Republican nominee, I think he's likely or very likely to be the vice presidential pick in 2028," NYU marketing professor Scott Galloway said on "Pivot," the podcast he co-hosts with journalist Kara Swisher, following Talarico's March primary victory.

• Last year, influential podcaster Joe Rogan suggested Talarico should aim for the White House.

Flashback: Barack Obama's Senate run in 2004 — including a galvanizing keynote address at the Democratic National Convention that summer — established his national profile ahead of a successful presidential run in 2008.

• Current Vice President Vance had not served two years in the U.S. Senate before Donald Trump named him as his running mate in the 2024 election.

Zoom in: Talarico's campaign declined an Axios request for comment.

Between the lines: Selecting Talarico as a running mate — should he win in November — would "send a message that whoever was the presidential candidate ... would be reaching out and cares about the electorate that Talarico had resonated with," Joel Goldstein, a scholar of the vice presidency, tells Axios.

Context: Talarico has carved out a new lane in Texas politics: a Christian Democrat who appeals to Hispanic voters and suburbanites — both key constituencies.

Follow the money: His campaign has been hauling in record amounts of cash, building a donor base around the country that would be attractive to any White House run.

The intrigue: A Talarico Senate win would immediately raise the question of whether he could help deliver Texas' 40 electoral votes to Democrats in 2028.

• Choosing Texas running mates (U.S. Sens. Lyndon B. Johnson in 1960; Lloyd Bentsen in 1988) has been a way for northern Democrats to reach into the South as they aim for ticket balance.

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If Talarico wins the 2026 Senate race and if he's named to a White House ticket and that ticket wins — a string of very big "ifs" — he would resign his Senate seat, likely in early January 2029, before being sworn in as vice president.

• The governor would then be empowered to appoint his successor, who could be of either party.

Reality check: No Democrat has won a statewide election in Texas since 1994.

• Talarico will face either U.S. Sen. John Cornyn or Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who are vying for the GOP nomination in a May 26 runoff and who are trailing Talarico in recent polling.

Between the lines: If Talarico does manage to pull off an upset in Texas, national Democrats will be reluctant to give up his seat with a (likely) Republican governor — Greg Abbott — appointing his successor.

• "When push comes to shove in those conversations, that's often a decisive factor — you don't want to mess with a 50-50 Senate or one that's 51-49. You don't want to shake that up with other viable (running mate) options available, which there will be," Adam Schiffer, a scholar of American politics at Texas Christian University, tells Axios.

The bottom line: For every Talarico, even if he wins in 2026, there could be a Jon Ossoff, the Democratic U.S. senator running for re-election in Georgia, or a Seth Bodnar, now running in Montana as an independent for the U.S. Senate.

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The Spurs host the Minnesota Timberwolves tonight in the Western Conference semifinals — the first time the Spurs have made it this far since 2017.

The latest: Minnesota is coming off a 4-2 upset of Denver but is banged up — star Anthony Edwards was expected to be out to start the series but was cleared for activity last night.

• Donte DiVincenzo is done for the season with a torn Achilles.

Reality check: The Wolves beat the Spurs two out of the three times they played in the regular season, but Victor Wembanyama didn't play in one of those losses.

The intrigue: The headliner matchup is Wemby vs. Rudy Gobert — mentor-mentee duo and Defensive Player of the Year winners, with Wemby holding the current title and Gobert owning four.

What they're saying: Some experts see Spurs winning in five. Even Wolves coach Chris Finch noted the toll of the Denver series and said San Antonio would be the "real winner" of the Nuggets vs. Timberwolves round.

• "I'm not sure what we have left standing," he said after the Timberwolves sealed the series on Thursday.

What's next: Tipoff is at 8:30pm. Peacock will broadcast the game.

• Tickets to the game currently start at $138.