Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico is trying to convince Texas voters that he has moderated his views on transgender issues, but undercover footage obtained by The Daily Wire suggests that a Democratic organizer involved in the party’s statewide campaign believes the shift is political posturing rather than a genuine change of heart.
The video shows Jennifer Miranda, a manager with Texas Together and the Texas Democratic Party, saying Talarico, who has sparked backlash over his fringe views on Christianity and “love” for transgender children, is trying to broaden his appeal while standing by his statements behind his past statements supporting the LGBT movement.
“I would say right now he’s trying to target a wider net, which unfortunately means being more palatable to Republicans here in Texas,” Miranda said in the footage. “He really needs to win those Texans over.”
“You talk to some Republicans, and they’re very Republican, especially here in Texas … very, very to the Right,” she added.
Texas Together is a coordinated campaign launched by the Texas Democratic Party, Texas Majority PAC, Powered by People, and the Texas House Democratic Campaign Committee to pool resources and support Democratic candidates across the ballot, including Talarico.
The Daily Wire independently confirmed that Miranda is paid through Texas Majority PAC, a political action committee founded in 2022 by alumni of Beto O’Rourke’s campaigns.
When asked whether Talarico still supports trans-identifying children, Miranda responded: “I think that from the character he’s shown us, he does believe the things that he’s said before.”
The Daily Wire reached out to the Texas Democratic Party for comment.
The unearthed exchange comes just one day after Talarico appeared on Fox News and attempted to walk back several of his most problematic past positions, including stances on transgender athletes competing in girls’ sports and gender-transition surgeries for minors.
In 2021, Talarico voted against Senate Bill 29 while serving on the Texas House Public Education Committee. The legislation sought to require public-school athletes to compete according to the sex listed on their birth certificate. Talarico was one of five committee members to vote against the bill, which passed the committee 8-5.
Appearing on Fox to counterprogram the GOP’s Dallas midterm convention, Talarico answered “absolutely” when asked whether he would support a national ban on gender-transition surgeries for minors.
“If you go back and check, I voted for a major amendment to limit the bill to banning surgeries for minors,” he said in the interview. “As a lawmaker, my job is to try to sift through everything the bill does. And sometimes there’s stuff in it that’s really harmful, and I have no choice but to oppose the bill as a whole.”
In reality, Talarico voted against a 2023 law that protected kids from transgender surgeries and cross-sex hormone procedures.
Talarico also acknowledged during the Fox News interview that some of his previous statements “missed the mark,” including his past claim that there are six sexes and his 2021 declaration that “God is non-binary.”
It’s a stunning turnaround for the state representative whose voting record and a flood of unearthed clips suggest unequivocal support for the LGBT movement.
In a 2023 podcast appearance, the Texas Democrat was asked to name something he loved besides family and friends. His answer: “the trans children who showed up yesterday at the state Capitol to advocate for their humanity.”
The clip, previously unearthed by The Daily Wire, has taken on new significance after undercover footage captured a Texas Democratic operative saying Talarico “does believe the things that he’s said before” and that his current messaging is aimed at being more “palatable to Republicans.”
Beyond his voting record, the Texas church where Talarico has delivered his sermons pushes gender-related material on children, featuring books containing sexually explicit content and transgender themes, The Daily Wire previously reported. The Senate hopeful attends St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Austin. There, children have access to a library stocked with “banned books,” including titles that contain descriptions of anal rape, incest, and oral sex, according to The Daily Wire’s review of its offerings.
In August, The Daily Wire also uncovered a sermon showing Talarico saying “God is not a Christian” and comparing evangelism to forcing alcohol on young children.
In the nearly 20-minute sermon, titled “God Is Not Christian: Confronting Christian Nationalism,” Talarico seemingly downplayed the divinity of Jesus and appeared to reject a key passage from the Gospel of John stating that Christ is the only way to God.
“There are so many pathways to the sacred. The Islamic mystic Rumi said, ‘Every religion has love, but love has no religion. God is so much bigger than our human categories,’” Talarico said. “God is not a Presbyterian. God is not a Christian. God is not a noun at all. God is a verb. God is not a being. God is being self. God is love, and that’s why Jesus is against anything that gets in the way of that love between neighbors, including religion.”
Talarico will face off against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in November’s race for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by GOP Sen. John Cornyn. The Cook Political Report ranks the contest as a toss-up.
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