Democrats needed a winner in Texas. They may have nominated a liability instead.
James Talarico barely had time to savor his primary win over Rep. Jasmine Crockett before the Republican opposition research machine started doing what it does best. Within hours of the Associated Press calling the race, an avalanche of old tweets and video clips had already begun circulating – and Republicans are practically giddy.
The first batch of video ammunition came courtesy of Senate Republicans, who surfaced a clip of Talarico invoking Scripture to defend gender ideology. “God is both masculine and feminine and everything in between. God is nonbinary,” he said in the footage.
Meet James Talarico, Texas’ Democrat nominee for U.S. Senate.
He thinks “God is nonbinary.” pic.twitter.com/PTXKT6GdeK
— Senate Republicans (@NRSC) March 4, 2026
He also said, “Trans children are God’s children, made in God’s own image. There’s nothing wrong with them, nothing at all. They are perfect, they are beautiful, and they are sacred. Bullying children is immoral. It’s a sin, a special kind of sin.”
This is James Talarico, who just won the Texas Democratic primary for U.S. Senate:
“Trans children are God’s children, made in God’s own image. There’s nothing wrong with them. Nothing at all.”pic.twitter.com/w7mIVcyA1B
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) March 4, 2026
Another clip shows Talarico describing the southern border with the kind of metaphor that writes campaign ads for the other side: “Our southern border should be like our front porch. There should be a giant welcome mat out front.”
James Talarico, Democrat nominee for U.S. Senate in Texas: “Our southern border should be like our front porch. There should be a giant welcome mat out front.”
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) March 4, 2026
He separately described Jesus as a “radical feminist.”
JAMES TALARICO: “Did they teach you in Sunday school that Jesus Christ himself was a radical feminist?”
This is the Democrat nominee for Senate in Texas. pic.twitter.com/caVqHhxvoY
— Senate Republicans (@NRSC) March 4, 2026
In 2021, he delivered a floor speech at the Texas statehouse, claiming that “modern science obviously recognizes that there are many more than two biological sexes. In fact, there are six, which honestly, Rep. Hefner, surprised me, too.”
Texas Democrat U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico says there are 6 sexes.
TALARICO: “Modern science obviously recognizes that there are many more than two biological sexes, in fact there are six.”pic.twitter.com/w2ryke0QoQ
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) March 4, 2026
He also insisted the “trans community” needs “abortion care.”
JAMES TALARICO: “Our trans community needs abortion care too.”
This is who Democrats just nominated as their senate candidate. pic.twitter.com/INHeOteRYs
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) March 4, 2026
He’s also suggested that atheists can be more “Christ-like” than some of his Christian colleagues.
Texas Democrat U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico says atheists are more Christ-like than Christians:
TALARICO: “I have met so many Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, Jews, Muslims, atheists, agnostics who are more Christ-like than some of the Christians I serve with.” pic.twitter.com/3Hmz9YbdwY
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) January 30, 2026
Talarico is also being criticized for a social media posts in which he claims that his “white skin” is giving him “immunity” from the “virus of racism.”
“White skin gives me and every white American immunity from the virus,” he wrote on Twitter back on May 8, 2020. “But we spread it wherever we go—through our words, our actions, and our systems. We don’t have to be showing symptoms—like a white hood or a Confederate flag—to be contagious.” The metaphor was framed around early COVID-19 language and the outrage following the killing of Ahmaud Arbery. It went largely unnoticed at the time. It is not going unnoticed now.
White skin gives me and every white American immunity from the virus. But we spread it wherever we go—through our words, our actions, and our systems. We don’t have to be showing symptoms—like a white hood or a Confederate flag—to be contagious.
— James Talarico (@jamestalarico) May 8, 2020
He also wrote “Radicalized white men are the greatest domestic terrorist threat in our country.”
Black Americans in a church.
Mexican Americans in a store.
Asian Americans in a spa.
Radicalized white men are the greatest domestic terrorist threat in our country.
— James Talarico (@jamestalarico) March 18, 2021
Democrats were counting on Talarico to be an electable Democrat who could finally flip Texas. Now, Republicans are laughing.
“If this is a real Talarico post, he is toast,” Gov. Greg Abbott said on X. “This is Tim Walz clone territory. He could win in Minnesota, but not in Texas.”
Sen. Ted Cruz wasn’t subtle either. “Left-wing zealots are very, very different from ordinary Americans. Among other things, they are open racists,” he said.
Texas Democrats likely passed on Crockett because she was too combative, too polarizing, too much of a guaranteed loss in a state Republicans have held in the Senate since 1988. Talarico was supposed to be the reasonable one who could peel off disenchanted Republicans and make the suburbs competitive. Democrats thought they had momentum with Talarico, but now it looks like all they have is a lot of baggage.
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