rode viral video fame to the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in Texas. Now Republicans want to turn years of candid on-camera musings against him.
Conservatives are digging through Talarico’s and finding a trove of progressive commentary on hot-button cultural issues like race, gender, religion and immigration. They hope it will torpedo his candidacy in a red state like Texas that Democrats have spent decades struggling to turn blue.
Talarico was a state legislator barely known outside his district before he started building a national profile by making himself ubiquitous. He sat for lengthy podcast interviews and posted heavily on social media. The grandson of a Baptist preacher and a seminary student himself, Talarico often makes a Biblical case for progressive policies, using a gift of gab that many Democrats believe will help him connect with voters across Texas.
It’s also given his critics hours and hours of material to mine. And after he defeated Rep. Jasmine Crockett in the Democratic primary on Tuesday, conservatives started uploading an arsenal of video clips.
鈥淕od is nonbinary,鈥� Talarico once said during a legislative floor speech. that he was being 鈥渁 little provocative鈥� to make the theological point that 鈥淕od is beyond gender.鈥�
鈥淥ur southern border should be like our front porch. There should be a giant welcome mat out front,鈥� Talarico said in a clip that cuts off the rest of his sentence 鈥� 鈥渁nd a lock on the door.鈥�
鈥淩adicalized white men are the greatest domestic terrorist threat in our country,鈥� Talarico wrote five years ago in a post lamenting mass shootings targeting Black, Hispanic and Asian Americans.
Republican consultant Chris LaCivita and suggested it was 鈥済reat ad copy” for his party. LaCivita is working for a super PAC supporting incumbent Sen. John Cornyn, who faces state Attorney General Ken Paxton in a runoff for the Republican nomination.
President Donald Trump even joined in, telling Politico in an interview that Talarico is 鈥渁 terribly weak candidate鈥� who is 鈥渕ore woke than even the very highly untalented Jasmine Crockett.鈥� He predicted Talarico would be 鈥渕uch easier than her鈥� to defeat in a general election.
“He is radically out of touch with Texans and they will not vote for this in November,鈥� said Samantha Cantrell, a spokesperson for the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
During a victory speech Wednesday, Talarico primed his supporters for the onslaught of criticism, which he blamed on billionaires and political elites desperate to hold onto power.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e going to throw everything they have at us,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e going to call me a radical leftist. They鈥檙e going to call me a fake Christian. They鈥檒l call our movement un-Texan, un-American. They鈥檒l call us a threat.鈥�
The criticism is coming, Talarico said, 鈥渂ecause we’re a threat to their corrupt system.鈥�
鈥淥ur campaign is building a movement poised to change the politics of this state and take power back for working people,鈥� said Talarico spokesperson JT Ennis. 鈥淲hile they lob stale attacks to mislead Texans, we are uniting the people of Texas to win in November.鈥�
Democrats are hoping that Republican runoff voters will favor Paxton, who has weathered allegations of corruption and infidelity and has his own history of controversial remarks.
Trump has promised to in the race, but he hasn’t said when he’ll announce a decision or who it will be. Republican leaders want him to line up behind Cornyn, who is seeking a fifth term.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s successful campaign provides a recent model of a Democrat who overcame intense scrutiny for progressive statements that became a political liability. Mandani went on Fox News and apologized to New York Police Department officers for past criticism, such as a calling to 鈥渄efund this rogue agency鈥� in 2020.
Still, New York and Texas are worlds apart politically. Trump won Texas by nearly 14 points and lost the state of New York by nearly as much.
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