MARK HALPERIN: Is Democrat James Talarico the real deal — or Beto 2.0 headed for a Texas flop?

Hope can indeed be a dangerous thing.

State Rep. James Talarico said just that on Tuesday night — "A little bit of hope is a dangerous thing" — and he meant it as a call to action, a summons to the faithful. But the line lingers in the Texas air for a different reason. Democrats are about to invest a great deal of time, money and, yes, hope in the notion that a young state legislator from Round Rock is the man who will break a nearly four-decade winless drought for his party in the Lone Star State.