{"id":829,"date":"2026-05-27T16:07:18","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T16:07:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=829"},"modified":"2026-05-27T16:07:18","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T16:07:18","slug":"what-to-know-about-james-talaricos-record-and-his-past-comments-no-hes-not-vegan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=829","title":{"rendered":"What to know about James Talarico\u2019s record and his past comments (no, he\u2019s not vegan)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n James Talarico, the Democratic nominee for Senate in Texas, is back in the national spotlight after Republicans picked their standard-bearer for the race on Tuesday.\n <\/p>

Read more Biden sues to stop Justice Department from releasing interview recordings<\/a><\/p>\n

\n Talarico, a state representative, will face off against state Attorney General Ken Paxton, who defeated Sen. John Cornyn in a primary runoff. President Donald Trump endorsed Paxton a week out from the election and helped him defeat Cornyn by more than 27 percentage points \u2014 but Paxton\u2019s history of scandals and criticism from within his own party has stirred Democratic hopes that Talarico can beat him.\n <\/p>\n

\n Now, Talarico is gearing up for what is expected to be a bruising general election where he will be in the crosshairs of both Paxton and Trump, who has already promised to visit Texas to campaign against him.\n <\/p>\n

\n GOP officials have mocked him repeatedly as a \u201cvegan,\u201d which he is not, as part of a broader strategy of painting him as outside the mainstream for Texas. But in an unearthed 2022 clip, he talked about the need for Americans to reduce their meat consumption and touted how he was running a \u201cnon-meat campaign\u201d for the Texas House.\n <\/p>\n

\n Here\u2019s what else to know about Talarico:\n <\/p>\n

\n He\u2019s the rare Democrat who speaks openly about his faith\n<\/h2>\n

\n Talarico wears his faith on his sleeve. He is a Presbyterian seminarian and working to become an ordained minister.\n <\/p>\n

\n He\u2019s cited his faith in making arguments against Republicans policies in Texas, including a law that requires the Ten Commandments to be posted in public school classrooms. He called it \u201cdeeply un-Christian\u201d in a clip that has gone viral. He has also cited his faith to rail against Christian nationalism, or the idea that the United States should be a Christian country, and restricting abortion rights.\n <\/p>\n

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\"Attendees<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n<\/div>\n
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\nAttendees hold “Love Thy Neighbor” and “Talarico For Texas” signs during a Texas primary election night event with State Representative James Talarico at Emo’s Austin in Austin, Texas, on March 3.<\/span>\n<\/div>\n
Jordan Vonderhaar\/Bloomberg\/Getty Images<\/figcaption>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n \u201cThat\u2019s a belief I hold not despite my faith, but because of my faith,\u201d Talarico said in a recent podcast. \u201cJesus never talks about abortion. The Bible is silent on abortion.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Republicans have denounced Talarico\u2019s efforts to connect religion to politics. At Paxton\u2019s runoff night party, his son-in-law, Daniel Hayworth, led a prayer to God that said Talarico \u201ctwists your word and spits upon your name.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n He\u2019ll have to overcome past statements on social issues\n<\/h2>\n

\n Talarico was first elected to the state House in 2018 and rose politically as his party embraced certain liberal positions on social issues that some now regret. Talarico will have to grapple with comments from that time throughout the general election.\n <\/p>\n

\n Republicans have already made clear they plan to target Talarico for asserting during a 2021 state legislative debate that modern science recognizes six sexes. Paxton and his supporters have taken to using the nickname \u201cSix-Gender Jimmy\u201d in recent days.\n <\/p>\n

\n Then there is the issue of his diet. While he is not a vegan, Paxton and Trump have already repeatedly branded him as hostile to meat based on the 2022 clip.\n <\/p>\n

\n Talarico shot back in a media appearance Tuesday, saying he has \u201cbeen eating barbecue since before Ken Paxton\u2019s first indictment.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n He\u2019s been focused on billionaires and corruption\n<\/h2>\n

\n Talarico has long centered his campaign on fighting the ultra-wealthy and corruption in politics. He quickly applied that theme to Paxton on Tuesday night, labeling him \u201cthe most corrupt politician in America.\u201d\n <\/p>

Read more Blood testing is now included in screening recommendations for colon and rectal cancer<\/a><\/p>\n

\n But even before Paxton became the GOP nominee, Talarico was running on a platform to root out corruption in politics. He wants to ban super PACs and corporate PACs, partisan gerrymandering and congressional stock trading.\n <\/p>\n

\n On the campaign trail, Talarico has argued the biggest divide in politics is not between left and right but \u201ctop versus bottom.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

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\"The<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n<\/div>\n
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\nThe campaign bus for Talarico arrives at a campaign event during the Texas primary eleciton in Round Rock, Texas.<\/span>\n<\/div>\n
Jordan Vonderhaar\/Bloomberg\/Getty Images<\/figcaption>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n Talarico will have to contend with the fact that some billionaires have contributed heavily to a super PAC backing him. He faced intraparty criticism over that disconnect in his primary against Rep. Jasmine Crockett. Talarico\u2019s allies have argued that he supports campaign finance reform but will not unilaterally disarm while Republicans also rely on billionaire donors.\n <\/p>\n

\n He\u2019s tried to tap into Democrats\u2019 frustration with their party\n<\/h2>\n

\n While he\u2019s been in office since 2018, Talarico is relatively new to the national stage and has pitched himself as a fresh-faced leader at a time when Democrats are demanding a more aggressive party.\n <\/p>\n

\n Talarico has told his party that \u201cit\u2019s time to start flipping tables,\u201d another biblical reference from the Gospel of Matthew.\n <\/p>\n

\n But even before the current political moment, Talarico has spoken out against his party. When Joe Biden was president, Talarico criticized Democratic leaders for \u201cspineless talking points\u201d and said they needed to do more to fight \u201cTrumpism.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Still, he made it through his primary without answering one intraparty litmus test: whether he thinks Sen. Chuck Schumer should continue as Senate Democratic leader. He has said he would consider any candidate for the leadership position after the midterms.\n <\/p>\n

\n He has some similarities \u2013 and differences \u2013 with Beto O\u2019Rourke\n<\/h2>\n

\n Many Democrats remember the last close Senate election in Texas, when Democratic Rep. Beto O\u2019Rourke came within 3 percentage points of unseating GOP Sen. Ted Cruz. That narrow margin helped usher in a new generation of Texas Democrats farther down the ballot, including Talarico.\n <\/p>\n

\n Talarico and O\u2019Rourke share some similarities. Like O\u2019Rourke did in his 2018 campaign, Talarico is trying to be as inclusive as possible and made a direct appeal to Cornyn supporters on Tuesday night. \u201cYou have a place in our campaign,\u201d Talarico wrote on X.\n <\/p>\n

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\"Beto<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n<\/div>\n
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\nBeto O’Rourke during a campaign event in Bastrop, Texas, in August 2022.<\/span>\n<\/div>\n
Jordan Vonderhaar\/Bloomberg\/Getty Images<\/figcaption>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n But unlike O\u2019Rourke, who built momentum against Cruz in the final months of their race, Talarico has already cemented himself as a serious opponent. He raised $27 million in the first quarter, far more than O\u2019Rourke did over the same period in 2018, and has run close to Cornyn or Paxton in polls testing hypothetical November matchups.\n <\/p>\n

\n Trump also took a keen interest in defeating O\u2019Rourke, like he is now doing with Talarico. Trump visited Houston for a rally with Cruz in the weeks before the 2018 election, while he said Wednesday morning that he will \u201cdo some nice, big, beautiful rallies for Ken.\u201d\n <\/p>

Read more Former Attorney General Pam Bondi diagnosed with thyroid cancer and recovering from treatment<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

James Talarico, the Democratic nominee for Senate in Texas, is back in the national spotlight after Republicans picked their standard-bearer for the race on Tuesday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":822,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-829","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat to know about James Talarico\u2019s record and his past comments (no, he\u2019s not vegan) - Relocation Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=829\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What to know about James Talarico\u2019s record and his past comments (no, he\u2019s not vegan) - 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