Texas Democrat U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico is scheduled to attend a high-dollar fundraiser in New York City on Monday alongside former Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), with Wall Street financiers, Hollywood figures, and a jewelry designer and filmmaker who has publicly criticized the United States and its flag among those involved in the event.
The September 28 fundraiser, hosted by actor Robert De Niro and other prominent Democrat donors, is scheduled to take place at an undisclosed location in downtown Manhattan, with top tickets costing $27,000. Actress Gina Gershon is also expected to attend.
The event comes as Talarico promotes his campaign as a “people powered” movement to “take back Texas,” despite receiving a majority of his campaign contributions from outside the state.
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According to figures reported by the Texas Tribune in July, more than 55 percent of Talarico’s contributions came from out-of-state donors, while approximately 44 percent came from Texas. By comparison, Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton received 82 percent of his contributions from Texas and 18 percent from outside the state.
The New York fundraiser’s host committee includes Charles Alaimo, a Democrat megadonor and managing director at Group One Trading; Cedomir Crnkovic, a former managing director at investment firm D. E. Shaw & Co. and current board member of Inclusive Abundance; and Charles Myers, founder and chairman of Signum Global Advisors and a former adviser to Hillary Clinton.
Other participants include Jane Rosenthal, cofounder of the Tribeca Film Festival, who has lived in a $40 million condominium on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, and Bill Derrough, a corporate banker at Jefferies.
Also listed on the host committee is Alexis Bittar, a jewelry designer and filmmaker who has publicly supported several progressive Democrat candidates and criticized the United States and its flag.
Alexis Bittar at WWD’s NYFW Dinner at Sloane’s at The Manner on September 16, 2025 in New York, New York. (Lexie Moreland/WWD via Getty Images)
According to the Washington Free Beacon, Bittar, whose jewelry has been worn by former first lady Michelle Obama, was a major financial bundler for New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and cohosted a fundraiser for Michigan Senate candidate Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed earlier this year.
In an Instagram post in June supporting Democratic Socialist Claire Valdez, Bittar wrote, “Hey people … it’s voting time!!! Bringing in all the Democrat Socialists!! Let’s change America.”
He also appeared in an Instagram video in August with El-Sayed, declaring that “the traditional Democrats have one foot in the grave!! The revolution has begun!” Bittar has criticized Zionists and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), suggesting that their influence, along with major media companies, could prevent El-Sayed from winning his election.
In an interview published shortly before America’s 250th anniversary, Bittar called the country a “shithole.” He also produced a 33-minute documentary about the American flag with filmmaker Bruce Cohen.
“It’s become such a symbol of aggression, the American flag, like ‘we’re coming for you’ during Trump’s era,” Bittar told Forbes while promoting the film. “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,” Bittar told V Magazine in December 2025 while discussing the campaign.
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.”
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The Manhattan event follows several other fundraisers involving prominent Democrat donors and Hollywood figures.
On September 10, Grey’s Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes and Lost co-creator Damon Lindelof and his wife, Heidi, were set to host a Hollywood fundraiser for Talarico and Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) at Lindelof’s Brentwood home. Tickets ranged from $1,000 to $27,000, with fundraising proceeds expected to be split evenly between the two candidates. Earlier in the summer, the Lindelofs attended a separate fundraiser hosted by media executive Peter Chernin and his wife, Megan, for Talarico and three other candidates. Talarico’s campaign has also fundraised with Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D), the billionaire heir to the Hyatt hotel fortune.
Breitbart News previously reported that Brown has received nearly $4.9 million from Wall Street-affiliated and wealthy donors throughout his political career, despite repeatedly criticizing those same interests.
De Niro, meanwhile, recently participated in a Constitution Day video released by the American Constitution Society alongside actors Jamie Lee Curtis, Noah Wyle, and Martin Sheen. The participants recited an oath pledging to support and defend the Constitution as part of an initiative encouraging Americans to make similar pledges ahead of the midterm elections.
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