Juli McShay had a few pointed questions for James Talarico, the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate in Texas, when she stood up during a town hall in Houston.

Black audiences such as this one are key to Talarico’s effort to defeat Republican state Attorney General Ken Paxton and become the first Democrat to win a statewide race in Texas since 1994. Although polls show strong backing for Talarico among Black voters, McShay brought up some lingering questions about the campaign’s outreach.

She told Talarico, who is white, that she and others had given his team some ideas.

“You’re saying one thing, but we’re waiting on the action,” said McShay, a political science professor and content creator.

“I want to ask for two contradictory things,” responded Talarico, adding that he had put in place some suggestions and more moves were coming. “One is patience. The other is urgency.”

That was two months ago. Since then, the candidate has labored to expand his support and erase any doubt, saying he wants to make sure the Democratic Party does not continue taking Black voters for granted.

His campaign announced what it described as a historic investment of $25 million to reach Black voters in Texas. He has also received an endorsement from the political arm of the Congressional Black Caucus and elected leaders, hired veteran Black political operatives and Black-owned firms, visited Black churches and businesses and appeared on Black media shows.

McShay said that “shows intentionality,” and she is encouraged by some of the candidate’s decisions. She is working on what she calls a report card to publish in the Houston outlet the Forward Times.

“If I’ve critiqued you and you’ve corrected the things that I critiqued you on, it’s only fair that I express that,” she said. As far as the overall grade, McShay said it wouldn’t be higher than a B.