Roosevelt, Theodore
1901–1909

TR was a progressive Republican — trust-busting, conservationist, the original anti-corruption crusader who broke up Standard Oil and took on the meatpacking industry — and believed great wealth concentration was a threat to democracy. Cornyn picks up TR points on national strength, anti-Russia (TR was anti-imperialist about other people's empires too), and the Open App Markets / Journalism Competition tech-antitrust framework he has co-sponsored. He loses TR ground on anti-monopoly enforcement broadly (Cornyn has not led on tech-platform breakup) and on the conservation framework (TR established the national park system; Cornyn supports Texas oil and gas industry without TR's offsetting conservation push). Talarico would be recognizable to TR on the anti-billionaire frame, the muckraking instinct on corruption, the rural-investment focus, and the conservation-friendly energy plan. TR would dislike Talarico's softer foreign-policy posture and pro-marijuana stance.