There is a contest this year among Democrats to find the worst possible candidate for the general election. As a Republican, this is great news, as it should lead to Republican wins, but as an American, I am appalled.
This September marks the 25th anniversary of the terror attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and, were it not for brave patriots who overpowered hijackers and downed a fourth plane, the attempted attack on the U.S. Capitol or White House. Yet if you can believe it, the Democratic House candidate from New Jersey, Adam Hamawy, was affiliated with Omar Abdel-Rahman, the “Blind Sheikh&#8221; who attempted to take down the World Trade Center in 1993. Hamawy is <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2026/06/04/hasan-piker-democratic-primaries-00949340">backed by radical podcaster Hasan Piker</a>, as is Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan’s U.S. Senate race. Both are radical leftist candidates.
The Democratic candidate for Senate in North Carolina is Roy Cooper. As its former governor, he drew strong criticism for his <a href="https://www.wral.com/story/new-trial-over-cooper-s-covid-lockdowns-ordered-by-nc-supreme-court/22127718/">heavy-handed</a> COVID lockdowns and policies. Recently, it was reported that he <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/former-dem-gov-hot-seat-complete-failure-insane-early-release-thousands-inmates">released violent criminals</a> before their sentences were up with a secret agreement with the NAACP. Many of those released criminals reoffended. Decarlos Brown, who slashed the neck of 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska as she rode the train in Charlotte, was on that early release list.
Next, look at Texas State Rep. James Talarico’s comments about God, made in the Texas legislature and from the pulpit, which are totally out of the mainstream. He has said, “God is non-binary … God is both masculine and feminine and everything in between.” On the border, he suggests the U.S. should have a “welcome mat.” In a deeply traditional Christian and America’s most border-y border state, these are not Texas values. They’re also not American values.
Then there’s Graham Platner. No doubt Democrat party leaders searched high and low for anybody, anybody else to run for U.S. Senate in Maine. Some say the Democrats’ only chance to take control of the U.S. Senate is to <a href="https://www.semafor.com/article/06/10/2026/democrats-weigh-whether-a-senate-majority-is-possible-without-platner">flip Maine’s Senate seat</a>. It’s been almost fun watching national Democratic leaders squirm, hesitate, and contort themselves into knots while trying to explain their support for this lunatic.
Platner, until recently, had a Nazi SS tattoo (and most likely knew <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2026/06/04/platner-democrats-furious-new-york-times-report-00951496">it was when he got it</a>), has made racist and <a href="https://spectrumlocalnews.com/me/maine/politics/2025/10/23/platner-sounds-off-on-controversial-past-at-ogunquit-rally">homophobic</a> comments, has <a href="https://www.wsj.com/politics/elections/graham-platners-wife-flagged-sexually-explicit-texts-to-his-senate-campaign-628ec832">sent sexually explicit texts</a> to multiple women, is on a social media platform that <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/platner-still-has-active-account-anonymous-app-dubbed-predators-paradise-amid-cheating-scandal">seeks out underage girls</a>, and has allegedly been <a href="https://apnews.com/article/senate-election-graham-platner-susan-collins-a07b35d03ee1acc419471c048572b065">violent with past girlfriends</a>. He has intimated that <a href="https://spectrumlocalnews.com/me/maine/politics/2026/03/18/in-maine-senate-primary--platner-responds-to-mills--ad-highlighting-past-comments-on-sexual-assault">rape victims deserve</a> what they get, has spoken <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/left-wing-dem-senate-hopeful-cheered-antifa-violence-unearthed-rant-kill-motherf-er">in favor of political violence</a> as a means to an end, and has <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/watch-platner-doesnt-apologize-purple-heart-recipient-voters-when-confronted-post-mocking-soldier">disparaged veterans</a>.
To add insult to injury, he claims that he said these things in a “dark” period of his life and attributed them to PTSD from his time in the military. As if insulting and devaluing women isn’t enough, he insinuates PTSD is an excuse for his bad behavior and vile words. Understandably, this has incensed many veterans.
There was a time not long ago when these types of behaviors and comments would have elicited calls for cancellation by party leaders, yet Platner’s have been glossed over by supporters like Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA). Their hypocrisy is off the charts. Whatever happened to “Believe all women”? Eric Swalwell must be kicking himself, thinking he caved too soon.
Democrats’ support of Platner is insulting to women. Women voters in Maine, unless they have an incurable case of Trump Derangement Syndrome, should be running as fast as they can toward Maine’s moderate Republican incumbent Susan Collins.
Platner campaigns with the party’s backing as its official candidate, and it seems Maine’s Democratic voters are sticking with their man. Still, there are whispers that even more salacious allegations are to come. If the Democrats do end up dumping him, it will only be when they become convinced he will lose.
These horrible candidates now constitute the Democrat Party’s norm. They’re radical, corrupt, indecent, and just plain strange — poster children for a party that has completely lost its moral compass. Some are socialists. Some are opportunists. Some are both. But they are all products of a Democratic Party that has decided winning matters more than decency, and ideology matters more than the Constitution.
It is time for Americans to reject these candidates and the un-American values they peddle before they get the chance to act on them. We have a Tricentennial to celebrate in 2076. Let&#8217;s make sure we get there. God Bless America.
***
Martha Jenkins is president of the <a href="https://www.nfrw.org/">National Federation of Republican Women</a>.

GettyImages-2278039744

Democrats Have Gone Full Platner

Democratic Party

DW Opinion

graham platner

James Talarico

Move over, Texas — the Lone Star State&#8217;s got a Senate candidate who can&#8217;t cut the apron strings.
James Talarico, the 37-year-old Democratic pol running against Attorney General Ken Paxton for Senate, has exactly one checking account to his name — and he shares it with his mother, The Washington Free Beacon <a href="https://freebeacon.com/democrats/texass-james-talarico-37-shares-his-only-checking-account-with-his-mom/">reports</a>.
That&#8217;s right, Mama Talarico is a joint account holder on her grown son&#8217;s Wells Fargo account, which holds somewhere between $15,000 and $50,000, according to financial disclosures. When a reporter asked his campaign why a nearly 40-year-old man needs Mommy on his bank account, they didn&#8217;t bother responding.
Some things are too embarrassing even for spin doctors.
The financial umbilical cord runs even deeper. Back when Talarico was a ripe 32 years old, his parents literally paid for him to move — filing a campaign disclosure showing an in-kind contribution of $1,437.84 for &#8220;moving expenses.&#8221; Mom and Dad also pumped $5,000 each into his state rep campaign that same year. And in a head-scratching twist, Talarico — who bought a $400,000 Austin home in 2022 — still lists his parents&#8217; address as his business address in official filings. Apparently, the family home is more than just where Mom co-signs the checks.
To be fair, Talarico does earn something — the Texas House pays its members a princely $7,200 a year. He&#8217;s supplemented that poverty wage through consulting work with MAYA Consulting, a DEI firm that helped school districts craft diversity plans during the height of Black Lives Matter. He reportedly pocketed around $80,000 from the firm in 2025.
Tofu doesn&#8217;t pay for itself.
Speaking of tofu — that&#8217;s another headache for the would-be senator. A resurfaced video shows Talarico proudly declaring his 2022 campaign &#8220;a non-meat campaign,&#8221; boasting that they&#8217;d only order from vegan restaurants as the only &#8220;moral thing to do&#8221; because eating meat is an &#8220;existential&#8221; climate threat. Paxton&#8217;s camp has gleefully dubbed him &#8220;Tofu Talarico,&#8221; and even President Trump piled on: &#8220;You can&#8217;t get elected as a vegan in Texas.&#8221; The DNC frantically posted a photo of Talarico <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/james-talarico-keeps-denying-the-vegan-label-video-suggests-otherwise">gnawing on barbecue</a>.
Damage control never smelled so smoky.
Then there&#8217;s the ideological whiplash. Talarico — who <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/james-talarico-wants-to-rebrand-as-a-moderate-but-we-have-the-receipts">once voted</a> against banning transgender surgeries for minors and gushed that &#8220;trans children&#8221; were what he loved most in the world — now suddenly claims he opposes gender reassignment surgery for kids. He&#8217;s also reinventing himself as a &#8220;border security Democrat&#8221; after previously demanding ICE agents be banned from wearing masks and calling deportations &#8220;terrorism.&#8221;
The rebrand is breathtaking in its cynicism. As American Principles Project president Terry Schilling put it: &#8220;He’s just been too much of a radical during his time in the Texas legislature.&#8221;
Mama Talarico marched in &#8220;No Kings&#8221; protests and joined her son on the campaign trail — including an appearance on The View.
But Texas voters may have a simple question come November: if Talarico can&#8217;t manage his own checking account solo at 37, why should they hand him a Senate seat?

Democratic Senate Candidate James Talarico Holds Rally Day After GOP Primary

Dem’s Favorite Senate Candidate Shares Bank Account With His Mom

Texas

When a Texas jury on Tuesday sentenced 19-year-old Karmelo Anthony to 35 years in prison for murdering 17-year-old Austin Metcalf, some Democrats in the state <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/jasmine-crockett-downplays-white-teens-murder-after-karmelo-anthony-convicted?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=2&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=Crockett+Claims+Karmelo+Anthony%E2%80%99s+Knife+Was+Too+Small+To+Be+Considered+Deadly">raced</a> to decry the verdict, claiming the black teenager who stabbed Metcalf at a high school soccer game was a victim of racism.
But one Texas Democrat was surprisingly absent from the chattering crowds: Senate nominee James Talarico.
Talarico’s silence comes amid the candidate&#8217;s larger rebrand. It&#8217;s a different tact than both <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/beto-says-hell-yes-were-going-take-americans-guns-james-barrett">Beto O&#8217;Rourke</a> and <a href="https://freebeacon.com/elections/texas-voters-again-reject-wendy-davis/">Wendy Davis</a> before him, who latched on to every liberal issue as they cruised to crushing defeats in statewide Texas elections. As he heads into a general election fight against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, Talarico is trying to convince voters he&#8217;s a moderate — and not the radical, pro-trans, anti-border security leftist that his opponents have painted him as.
Unfortunately for Talarico, his rebranding effort might fail. Because a radical leftist is precisely what he is.
Consider Talarico&#8217;s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0srbD2hn2vM&amp;t=683s">claim</a> just this week that he does not support transgender surgeries for kids. 
“I oppose gender reassignment surgeries for minors,” he said on Monday during an interview with lawyer Dan Cogdell, who asked him if he was “too liberal” for Texas. 
That stance would surprise the Talarico of just three years ago, who <a href="https://journals.house.texas.gov/HJRNL/88R/PDF/88RDAY63FINAL.PDF">voted</a> against a bill to ban transgender surgeries in Texas. The bill banned procedures like removing the breasts of girls who identify as boys.
&nbsp;
“What he&#8217;s doing right now with this change in his public position is he is telling the world that these surgeries are incredibly unpopular,” American Principles Project President Terry Schilling told The Daily Wire. “James Tallarico is one of the most progressive Democrats we have ever seen.”
The record from Talarico’s time in the legislature shows that during <a href="https://house.texas.gov/videos/11109">debate</a> on the measure protecting kids in the Texas state House, he claimed the proposal was about discrimination. 
“I think it&#8217;s clear that this is not about science or medicine, and certainly not about keeping kids safe,” he said on May 12, 2023. “I think this is about discriminating against people who are transgender.”
<div id="attachment_1113663" style="width: 1870px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1113663" class="size-full wp-image-1113663" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-10-at-11.58.07-AM.png" alt="" width="1860" height="924" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-10-at-11.58.07-AM.png 1860w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-10-at-11.58.07-AM-300x149.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-10-at-11.58.07-AM-1024x509.png 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-10-at-11.58.07-AM-768x382.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-10-at-11.58.07-AM-1536x763.png 1536w" sizes=" (max-width: 1860px) 100vw, 1860px" />Talarico attacks bill to protect kids from transgender procedures.</div>
At one point during that debate, Talarico pushed for Republican Rep. Tom Oliverson, who sponsored the legislation, to add an amendment to his proposal that would allow kids to get transgender procedures if two or three doctors signed off on the proposal. Talarico also <a href="https://journals.house.texas.gov/HJRNL/88R/PDF/88RDAY63FINAL.PDF">attempted</a> to add a provision to the bill that would “sunset” protections for children if “high-quality, long-term studies” could purport that transgender procedures were safe for kids. 
Talarico’s campaign now <a href="https://www.statesman.com/news/politics/state/article/ken-paxton-accuses-james-talarico-flip-flopping-22296649.php">claims</a> the candidate only opposed that bill because it “stripped critical healthcare away from Texas children suffering from rare genetic diseases that have nothing to do with being transgender.&#8221;
But in August 2023 — just months after voting against the bill — Talarico <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-james-talarico-says-he-loves-trans-children-in-unearthed-clip">said</a> on a podcast that the thing he loved most in the world apart from family or friends was “trans children.”
“I love, I’m just saying this because it’s all on my mind, the trans children who showed up yesterday at the state capitol to advocate for their humanity,&#8221; Talarico said in the footage, first unearthed by The Daily Wire. &#8220;They shouldn’t have to, but it was an inspiration to watch,” he said on the “A Superbloom” podcast.
Paxton, who helped negotiate a settlement with Texas Children’s Hospital to create the first ever &#8220;detransition&#8221; clinic, quickly attacked Talarico’s pivot on the issue. 
“In an attempt to make himself appear like less of a radical freak James Talarico is trying to walk back his position on child mutilation,” Paxton <a href="https://x.com/KenPaxtonTX/status/2064088208984686845">said</a> on Monday. “Texans remember.”
Political commentators have noted that Talarico’s rhetoric on the issue showed just how unpopular transgender procedures are with most Americans and how the electorate has shifted in recent years. 
Schilling, whose organization released ads targeting swing state voters on the issue of transgenderism during the 2024 election, said that the data showed most voters don&#8217;t support gender surgeries for kids. Even the Democrat Party&#8217;s own autopsy of the 2024 election acknowledged that President Donald Trump’s attack on Kamala Harris on the issue was effective. 
“For him to admit that this is a political vulnerability, should send a warning sign to every single Democrat that&#8217;s running in a competitive race this year,” Schilling said of Talarico. “He&#8217;s trying to win over these people in the middle and these Republicans, but I don&#8217;t think anyone&#8217;s going to buy it. He&#8217;s just been too much of a radical during his time in the Texas legislature.”
Schilling noted that Talarico’s comment left the door open for support for puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones, both of which can have permanent impacts on bone density, heart health, and fertility. 
Neeraja Deshpande, a commentator with the Independent Women’s Forum, told The Daily Wire that Talarico’s rhetorical shift reflected a broader cultural shift against transgender procedures for kids, which was in part triggered by detransitioners speaking out against the harmful procedures done on them as children. 
“I think it&#8217;s a permanent change on this issue,” she told The Daily Wire. “I think it was a blip that was, you know, predicated on emotional manipulation, and political manipulation, and a media environment that had really tight control.”
Deshpande noted that both the American Medical Association and American Society of Plastic Surgeons have publicly backed away from support for transgender procedures for kids. She added that Talarico’s shift was likely a cynical political move, but that it was good that support for transgender surgeries was now seen as a political liability. 
“I think there&#8217;s also just fewer Democrats willing to go to bat for all the like trans kids bulls***,” she said. “I think they recognize that it&#8217;s bulls**t.” 
Talarico is also attempting a moderate pivot on illegal immigration.
“I’m a border security Democrat,&#8221; Talarico said Monday. &#8220;I believe we&#8217;ve got to have a sane, orderly process to ensure that we know who&#8217;s coming into our country,” he said. “And I&#8217;m all for welcoming immigrants who want to work hard and live the American dream, who want to make us richer and stronger as immigrants have always done. But I also think we have to keep out folks who mean to do us harm. And public safety is the most important thing the government does.”
That&#8217;s a far cry from the Democrat&#8217;s previous <a href="https://x.com/RNCResearch/status/2015169671838695883?s=20&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=ncl_amplify&amp;utm_campaign=260609-james_talarico_fails_to_walk_back_his_far_left_record&amp;utm_content=ncl-fqjYFgn77p&amp;utm_term=&amp;_nlid=fqjYFgn77p&amp;_nhids=nclPXUQdWcLdpls">argument</a> for placing a “giant welcome mat” at the southern border and his <a href="https://x.com/jamestalarico/status/1149785576469618689">protesting</a> of immigration enforcement raids by the Trump administration. Just recently, Talarico told a group of religious leaders that there should be no mass deportations. 
“We have to ban ICE agents from wearing masks, from kidnapping people off our streets without a warrant,” he <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/at-james-talaricos-church-its-offensive-to-respect-gods-pronouns-but-abortions-ok">said</a>. “We have to require them to identify themselves like any law enforcement official. And we have to end this policy of mass deportations that again is terrorizing our communities across Texas and across this country.”
Andrew Arthur, a resident in legal policy and law at the Center for Immigration Studies, told The Daily Wire there was a major disconnect between Talarico’s purported support for border security and his anti-ICE advocacy. 
“Border security is not sustainable without deportations,” he said. “Because there are no consequences for entering the United States illegally, people will continue to do it.”
Arthur noted that the Biden administration’s policies that resulted in the release of some 8 million illegal immigrants into the United States led to a major backlash against open border policies. He said the catch-and-release policies put in place by Biden had a huge negative impact on Democrats during the 2024 election. He <a href="https://cis.org/Arthur/Latest-HarvardHarris-Poll-Shows-Increasing-Support-Mass-Deportations">noted</a> that a recent Harvard/Harris poll found that a majority of Americans still say they support deporting all illegal immigrants and that Democrats are increasingly weary of open borders rhetoric. 
“It makes sense that Democrats like Mr. Talarico are now distancing themselves from the Biden administration&#8217;s policies, which were very unpopular nationwide,” he told The Daily Wire. “So James Talarico is simply singing from the same playbook that most congressional Democrats ended singing from ever since Trump&#8217;s election in 2024.”
Arthur noted that the impacts of Biden’s illegal immigrant surge were still being felt in border communities in Texas while the border had turned into a non-issue for much of the country because of Trump’s successful efforts to secure the border. 
Talarico’s political rebrand includes claiming to support the oil and gas industry and the Second Amendment despite his previous climate activism and gun control advocacy. But his pivot is not contained to political issues. It appears to be changing how he characterizes his religious beliefs as well. 
While his pastor and mentor Jim Rigby denies the historical resurrection of Jesus Christ and promotes using so-called inclusive language for God, Talarico <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/at-james-talaricos-church-its-offensive-to-respect-gods-pronouns-but-abortions-ok">recently</a> claimed to believe differently in an interview with the New York Times. 
Schilling said Talarico was attempting to mask his true beliefs in his efforts to turn Texas blue. 
“He&#8217;s a trans Texan, and people should see right through it,” he said. “ He does not have your best interest in heart.”

James Talarico Wants To Rebrand As A Moderate. But We Have The Receipts.

border security

Ken Paxton

Senate

transgender surgery

U.S. Politics

Making faith a center point of his Senate campaign, James Talarico says he doesn’t want to “claim” Jesus for the Democratic Party. Yet the woke church that molded him uses Christ to justify support for abortion, transgender procedures on kids, and protesting immigration enforcement.
A review of Talarico’s Texas church and its activist pastor — who Talarico calls a “mentor” — shows how closely his political views have been shaped by a leftist conception of Christianity. These positions, such as the promotion of abortion and acceptance of transgenderism, put Talarico at odds with many of the Texas voters the media have suggested could be amenable to the Democrat’s religious pitch against Republican Ken Paxton. 
Talarico’s church, St. Andrew’s Presbyterian in Austin, has pushed leftist activism for years while undermining traditional Christian beliefs such as the historical resurrection of Jesus. The church’s theological and political positions face scrutiny as Talarico looks to become the first Democrat to win statewide office in Texas for decades on a platform of defeating Christian nationalism and removing faith from “partisan politics.” 
“I&#8217;ve been the chief opponent of Christian nationalism in the Texas legislature. I believe the separation of church and state is a sacred boundary that doesn&#8217;t just protect the state, but also protects the church,” Talarico told religious leaders during a podcast earlier this year. “I&#8217;m trying not to claim Jesus for the Democratic Party. I&#8217;m trying to wrestle away Jesus from partisan politics.”
From a review of the church&#8217;s website, one would hardly guess that Talarico is interested in a non-partisan Jesus. St. Andrew’s, whose webpage features a cross draped in an LGBTQ flag, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/this-book-is-gay-read-the-sexually-explicit-volumes-james-talaricos-church-gives-kids">maintains</a> a “banned books” library filled with sexually explicit material aimed at young people and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/james-talaricos-church-funds-abortions-trans-summer-camps">donates</a> part of its annual budget to abortion giant Planned Parenthood. 
<div id="attachment_1108063" style="width: 1076px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1108063" class="wp-image-1108063 size-full" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-02-at-8.24.33-AM.png" alt="" width="1066" height="810" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-02-at-8.24.33-AM.png 1066w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-02-at-8.24.33-AM-300x228.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-02-at-8.24.33-AM-758x576.png 758w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-02-at-8.24.33-AM-768x584.png 768w" sizes=" (max-width: 1066px) 100vw, 1066px" />St. Andrew&#8217;s Presbyterian</div>
In the name of <a href="https://www.staopen.org/inclusive-language">inclusivity</a>, Talarico’s church avoids referring to God as “Father” as Christians have done for thousands of years. Instead, the church recommends using “non-gendered” language for God. 
“Inclusive language, when used to refer to God, is non-gendered. Therefore, God is not referred to as ‘He’ or ‘Father’, nor as ‘She’ or ‘Mother,’” the church’s website says. 
This contradicts the Bible’s description of Jesus’ instructions to his disciples to refer to God as “our Father” when praying. In the biblical Gospels, Jesus refers to God as “Father” well over 100 times. 
The “Inclusive Bible” used by St. Andrew’s makes awkward gender revisions. The version changes the Lord’s Prayer, one of the most beloved and ancient Christian prayers, from “our Father who art in heaven” to “our Father-Mother in heaven.” 
Talarico appears to have adopted this belief during his time in the legislature, saying that “God is non-binary” while arguing against a Texas law keeping males out of female sports. 
In addition to not calling God &#8220;Father,&#8221; St. Andrew&#8217;s avoids referring to Jesus as “king,” as Christians have done for thousands of years. 
“When referring to God, we do not use the words ‘King’ and ‘Lord,’ because that would make God male,” the church says on its website. “When referring to Jesus, we do not use ‘king’ and ‘lord,’ because it hints at a hierarchy that we believe Jesus repudiated.”
&#8220;To say that our divine source is male is perhaps the most sexist comment a person can make,” the inclusive language guide says. “To equate the Almighty with masculinity might or might not hurt a particular victim of abuse, but it will definitely teach a view of life where our little girls will be more likely to be abused in the future.&#8221;
Many of the heterodox positions taken at St. Andrew&#8217;s come from Jim Rigby, Talarico’s “mentor” and a pastor at the church. In addition to his leftist political positions, he diverts from historic Christian belief that Jesus rose from the dead in a historic event called the resurrection. 
In a Christmas Day Facebook <a href="https://www.facebook.com/jim.rigby.12/posts/957972940944180">post</a> from 2015, Rigby suggested that resurrection could actually be understood as “a poem about the whole life process.”
“Apparently, because I don&#8217;t believe in a literal resurrection, I&#8217;m not really Christian. This unfortunately also means I won&#8217;t be going to heaven with many of you,” he said, adding that he was told by a Christian that “we have to LITERALLY believe Jesus&#8217; corpse got up. If you believe all the above you will get to be with God in heaven. Let&#8217;s just hope God has a handle on that anger problem by now.”
Talarico, who <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/01/us/politics/james-talarico-christian.html">told the</a> New York Times that he believes in a historical resurrection unlike his mentor, said his faith is a “biblical Christianity.” 
Despite this difference of opinion, Talarico greatly credits Rigby for his worldview and closely mirrors his political positions. 
“Our pastor, Dr. Jim Rigby, who I&#8217;ve known since I was 2 years old, he married my parents. He baptized me,” Talarico said during a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4832vfsmf4">podcast</a>. “He is still my pastor today. And he showed me what it means to act with courage from the pulpit.”
In 2023, Rigby and St. Andrew’s <a href="https://spectrumlocalnews.com/tx/south-texas-el-paso/news/2023/01/17/social-justice-sermons">worked</a> to oppose legislation supported by Texas Republicans to shield kids from transgender procedures. 
“Anyone who preaches hate in Jesus’ name and we remain silent, then we are complicit,” Rigby said during the time of his involvement in the campaign against a bill to protect kids from puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and gender surgeries. 
Talarico has taken a similar approach as a state lawmaker. He <a href="https://journals.house.texas.gov/HJRNL/88R/PDF/88RDAY63FINAL.PDF">voted against</a> the 2023 law that protected kids from transgender surgeries and cross-sex hormone procedures.
Talarico also <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CVD-Gi-FbWh/?hl=en&amp;img_index=3">attacked</a> Republicans for passing a bill in October 2021 keeping males out of female sports.
“Texas Republicans have passed their anti-trans bill. Over and over, Christians used scripture to justify bullying trans kids,” he said at the time. “I told them in my faith, God is non-binary.”
Abortion is another issue where Talarico closely follows Rigby. In 2016, Rigby cited the so-called &#8220;constitutional right to an abortion” in an <a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/outlook/article/Rigby-New-fetal-remains-rule-is-a-Trojan-Horse-10689637.php">op-ed</a> lamenting proposals requiring the dignified burial of fetal remains and ultrasounds before ending the life of their unborn child. 
“It is chilling to witness politicians overriding science and medicine to impose their own beliefs on women,” he wrote. “The real reason politicians are pushing this seems to be the belief that a soul enters the body at conception, therefore making the fertilized human egg the moral equivalent to a fully gestated human being.”
Unlike many Christians, Rigby said he disagreed with that position. 
“Where is the religious freedom for the millions of us who believe that women&#8217;s bodies are not community property simply because they get pregnant? Where is the religious freedom for those of us who respect the moral agency of women?” he wrote. 
St. Andrew’s is a “reproductive freedom congregation,” meaning that it <a href="https://justtx.org/rfc/">affirms</a> that abortion is a “blessing” and a “moral and social good.” 
Talarico, running on a platform of enshrining Roe v. Wade into federal law, argues that Christianity is silent on abortion and actually supports the life-ending procedure. He grounds his support for abortion in the biblical account of an angel visiting the Virgin Mary and telling her that she would miraculously conceive and give birth to Jesus Christ. 
“I say all this in the context of abortion, because before God comes over Mary, and we have the incarnation, God asks for Mary’s consent,” he said during an appearance on the Joe Rogan podcast. “You cannot force someone to create … so that’s how I come down on that side of the issue.”
In 2016, St. Andrew’s became part of a <a href="https://www.texasobserver.org/faith-leaders-pledge-offer-sanctuary-immigrants-facing-deportation/">movement</a> of woke churches offering to shelter illegal immigrants, and Rigby was <a href="https://www.fox7austin.com/news/pulpit-to-soapbox-austin-preacher-wants-immigration-reform">arrested</a> for trespassing inside the state capitol in 2017 while protesting a proposed law targeting sanctuary city policies. 
If elected, Talarico says he will go after ICE and ban them from shielding their identity while conducting operations. 
“We have to ban ICE agents from wearing masks, from kidnapping people off our streets without a warrant,” he said on a podcast. “We have to require them to identify themselves like any law enforcement official. And we have to end this policy of mass deportations that again is terrorizing our communities across Texas and across this country.”
Another issue that has plagued the Talarico campaign is the question of veganism. While he once boasted about having a meat-free campaign, he now says he proudly consumes Texas barbecue. His church <a href="https://www.staopen.org/earth-care">encourages</a> people to “eat a plant based diet for the planet’s health and yours.”

Screenshot 2026-06-03 at 11.14.56 AM

At James Talarico’s Church, Its Offensive To Respect God’s Pronouns — But Abortion’s OK.

Abortion

Bible

Christianity

For many self-described religious Democrats, squaring their support for abortion and radical gender ideology with their faith is a challenge. But at Texas Democrat James Talarico&#8217;s church, supporting abortions is part of the congregation&#8217;s &#8220;goals for the world.&#8221;
At the Texas church where the Democrat senate hopeful preaches sermons on the need for abortion in the “trans community,” church funds are sent not only to abortion giant Planned Parenthood, but also to radical organizations that pay to help facilitate out-of-state travel for women to kill their unborn babies, and an organization that runs a summer camp for transgender-identifying kids as young as 11. 
St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, the woke Austin church attended by Talarico, <a href="https://www.staopen.org/benevolences">lists</a> Planned Parenthood, which ends the lives of hundreds of thousands of unborn babies every year, as one of the organizations that shares its “vision and goals for the world.”
The church, which The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/this-book-is-gay-read-the-sexually-explicit-volumes-james-talaricos-church-gives-kids?author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=8&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=‘God+Is+Queer’%3A+See+The+Sexually+Explicit+Books+James+Talarico’s+Church+Gives+Kids">reported</a> last week stocks sexually explicit books aimed at young people in its library, sets aside money every year for Planned Parenthood, according to its website. It also describes itself as a “Reproductive Freedom Congregation,” <a href="https://justtx.org/rfc/">meaning</a> it believes that “abortion is a blessing.&#8221;
Donating to Planned Parenthood is not the only way that St. Andrew&#8217;s promotes abortion. 
Through its Social Justice Committee, the church <a href="https://www.staopen.org/social-justice">backs</a> a project called “Field of Hope.” The project was created as a memorial for the AIDs epidemic, but now <a href="https://fieldofhopeaustin.org/gender-reproductive-justice.html">promotes</a> a variety of other activist organizations. One such organization is the Lilith Fund, which <a href="https://www.lilithfund.org/get-help/">provides</a> money for Texans to travel out of state to kill their unborn babies. 
It also promotes a <a href="https://janesdueprocess.org/about/">similar organization</a> called Jane’s Due Process, which says it provides “abortion and practical support funding for young people under 18 traveling out of Texas for abortion care.” This means it openly funds teenagers looking to leave Texas for abortions. 
The church&#8217;s position on abortion is in line with Talarico’s own <a href="https://jamestalarico.com/issue/health-care/">suppor</a>t for codifying Roe v. Wade into federal law to create a so-called right to an abortion. Talarico grounds his support for abortion in the biblical account of an angel visiting the Virgin Mary and telling her that she would miraculously conceive and give birth to Jesus Christ. 
&#8220;I say all this in the context of abortion, because before God comes over Mary, and we have the incarnation, God asks for Mary’s consent,” he said during an appearance on the Joe Rogan podcast. “You cannot force someone to create… so that’s how I come down on that side of the issue.”
Talarico’s opponent, Paxton, has gone after leftist activists that ship abortion pills into Texas during his time as attorney general. Much of his attacks on Talarico have focused in on the Democrat’s leftist statements on religion, abortion, and transgenderism.
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The radical pro-abortion groups are just a sliver of the liberal causes supported by the church. Other organizations St. Andrew’s lists on its donation page included Out Youth Austin, the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights, Evergreen Action, and the Carbon180. 
Out Youth Austin <a href="https://www.outyouth.org/about/mission">describes</a> itself as a group that provides “a safe space for LGBTQ+ youth to come together, receive support, and make friends who understand who they are.” One of the programs it offers is a summer camp for kids between the ages of 11-17 who identify as gay or transgender. 
The organization says that recent actions in Texas have “caused distress” for “trans and non-binary youth” and points to a number of radical groups that support transgender procedures on kids. For people 18 and older, Out Youth Austin will help them <a href="https://www.outyouth.org/resources/social-services">obtain</a> the “necessary letters” for “this important step in your transition.”
The U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights is an anti-Israel organization that says it is <a href="https://uscpr.org/about-us/#team">focused</a> on “collective liberation” opposed to “all forms of bigotry” which it defines as “Zionism, racism, Islamophobia, antisemitism, sexism, queerphobia, transphobia, classism, and ableism.”
Evergreen Action is <a href="https://www.evergreenaction.com/about/">focused</a> on the fight to “defeat climate change” founded by staffers who used to work for Washington Democrat Governor Jay Inslee. Carbon180 <a href="https://carbon180.org/our-approach/">wants</a> to “bring carbon removal solutions to gigaton scale” by shaping federal policy.
The latest <a href="https://www.realclearpolling.com/polls/senate/general/2026/texas/talarico-vs-paxton">polling</a> between Talarico and Paxton has the race virtually tied. Democrats haven&#8217;t won a U.S. Senate seat in Texas since 1988.

The Vox Media Podcast Stage At SXSW – Day 2

Abortions, Trans Summer Camps… See What Else James Talarico’s Church Bankrolls

Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico’s mystery girlfriend is a vegan and political activist.
Brianna Menard, 30, is also a lobbyist for the Texas Medical Association, an organization that has supported puberty blockers and hormone treatment and criticized Republicans for so-called “criminalization of evidence-based, gender-affirming care for transgender youth and adolescents,” The New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/05/29/us-news/senate-candidate-james-talaricos-vegan-girlfriend-revealed/?utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=nypost&amp;utm_source=twitter">reported</a>.
She also enjoys yoga and dancing at &#8220;Cheer Up Charlies,&#8221; a local vegan gay bar in Austin, Texas, according to the Post.
Menard met Talarico while working as his chief of staff in 2022, but the two did not start dating until 2023, according to the Post. She also worked as chief of staff for Democratic Texas state Rep. Salman Bhojani.
The identity of Talarico’s girlfriend comes to light as Talarico has been denying rumors that he is vegan himself — even though he once suggested eating meat is morally wrong. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, Talarico&#8217;s Republican opponent in the Senate race, has dubbed him “Tofu Talarico.”
A spokesman for Talarico’s campaign said Talarico is not vegan.
“James is not and never has been a vegan, much to his girlfriend’s chagrin,” spokesman JT Ennis said. “As the saying goes, true love conquers all.”
During his re-election campaign to the Texas House of Representatives in 2022, however, Talarico announced his entire campaign would be “non-meat” to counter climate change, The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/james-talarico-keeps-denying-the-vegan-label-video-suggests-otherwise">reported</a>.
“Not just because it’s the right thing to do, and the moral thing to do, but also, as all of you know, it’s necessary to fight climate change,” Talarico said at the time. “It is now existential that we try to reduce our meat consumption and that we try to respect animals in all aspects of society.”
To push back against the vegan claims, Democrats posted a picture of Talarico eating barbecue as the Democrat nominee hopes to flip the Republican Senate seat.
“I’ve been eating barbecue since before Ken Paxton’s first indictment,” Talarico said earlier this week.
In addition to his vegan nickname, Paxton has called Talarico “Six-Gender Jimmy” and “James Tala-FREAKO” for his comments on transgender ideology — including Talarico’s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/this-book-is-gay-read-the-sexually-explicit-volumes-james-talaricos-church-gives-kids">remark</a> that what he loved most in the world was &#8220;trans children.&#8221;

US Senate Candidate Talarico Holds Rally As Paxton Trounces Cornyn In Runoff Election

James ‘Tofu Talarico’ Has A Vegan, Leftist Activist Girlfriend

U.S. Senate

Veganism

In a recently resurfaced clip, Texas Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico said he opposes voter ID and claimed it is unnecessary. 
In a <a href="https://youtu.be/0Ia-shuHvsE?si=gi2J8NK4Ow9QFBwy">primetime</a> Fox News appearance with Pete Hegseth in July 2021, Talarico argued that &#8220;Texas is one of the hardest places to vote in the whole country&#8221; for simply requiring a photo ID to verify your identity prior to casting an in-person ballot. Voters only have to present one of seven acceptable forms of identification.
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Talarico in 2021: “I oppose voter ID.&#8221;
Add it to the ever-growing list. <a href="https://t.co/bXeoxM1kYD">pic.twitter.com/bXeoxM1kYD</a>
— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) <a href="https://x.com/WesternLensman/status/2060120062913081377?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 28, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Talarico and Hegseth debated SB 1, Texas&#8217;s voter ID requirement for mail-in ballots, which was subsequently signed into law by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott on September 7 of that same year. Hegseth pointed out that Texas already allowed 12-13 days of early voting, and that SB 1 expanded early voting hours as well.
Talarico also recently slammed Texas&#8217; voter laws, saying, &#8220;I will say that we already have a lot of voter suppression in Texas. It’s baked into our laws. I’ve fought fiercely against many of those laws when they were coming through the legislature. And Texas is one of the hardest places to vote in the country as a result. It’s why we see such low voter turnout in our state compared to other states.&#8221;
When applying for and returning a mail-in ballot under SB 1 provisions, Texans simply have to provide the last four digits of their Social Security number, which is assigned to almost every American citizen at birth at no cost.
According to the <a href="https://cdce.umd.edu/sites/cdce.umd.edu/files/Voter%20ID%20Report%20Texas.pdf">Center for Democracy &amp; Civic Engagement</a>, 99% of Texans have at least one of the seven forms of photo identification required to vote. In states like California, voter ID laws are extremely lax, and people do not need to show any form of physical ID to register to vote. In some states, people only have to provide a name and address along with a signature approved by the poll worker. 
If elected to the Senate, Talarico would likely become another lawmaker opposed to federal voter ID legislation such as the SAVE Act, which passed the House but is pending in the Senate. The 2026 Texas Senate race is shaping up to be one of the most consequential national races in determining the direction of the United States regarding voter integrity.

FLASHBACK: Where James Talarico Stands On Election Security

Voter ID

As the great Ella Langley once <a href="https://youtu.be/hLOheGDwD_0?si=xqXiZQc1dig3-s1X">said</a>, &#8220;He&#8217;s choosin&#8217; Texas, I can tell by the way he&#8217;s two-steppin&#8217; &#8217;round the room. And judgin&#8217; by the smile she&#8217;s putting on his face, there&#8217;s nothing I can do.&#8221;
A perfect song. A perfect melody. A perfect metaphor.
Will Texas choose Texas? The tried and true, the Texas they know and love, the Texas they always fall back on because she&#8217;s stable, shares the same values, and abides by the same laws of the land?
In the song, both Texas and Tennessee were great options. In this scenario, however, Attorney General Ken Paxton is Texas. And State Representative James Talarico is Tennessee, with a whole lot more estrogen than Ella Langley and a whole lot fewer attractive characteristics.
Actually, that would be doing an injustice to Tennessee. He&#8217;s more like Seattle, Washington.
Democrats are trying for the millionth time to &#8220;take Texas,&#8221; but they continue to forget who actually lives there and keep putting up candidates who represent the opposite of the Lone Star State. Texas ain&#8217;t choosin&#8217; Talarico, and here&#8217;s why.
This week, Texans chose their fighters for November. Trump-backed Attorney General Ken Paxton decisively beat incumbent Senator John Cornyn for the Republican ticket. In March, on the Democrat side, State Representative James Talarico, to our chagrin, beat the lovely Representative Jasmine Crockett, who would&#8217;ve been quite entertaining to watch flail about.
But Talarico is already getting dragged through the media, and not without good reason. He&#8217;s a nutcase. He&#8217;s everything wrong with the woke religious Left jammed into a small, feminine <a href="https://x.com/realBrandonGill/status/2059624531837231475">body</a>.
His latest blemish, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/this-book-is-gay-read-the-sexually-explicit-volumes-james-talaricos-church-gives-kids?author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=undefined&amp;elementPosition=29&amp;row=3&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+News&amp;rowType=Vertical+Carousel&amp;title=%E2%80%98God+Is+Queer%E2%80%99%3A+See+The+Sexually+Explicit+Books+James+Talarico%E2%80%99s+Church+Gives+Kids">reported</a> exclusively by the Daily Wire, is that the church the former pastor preached at is pushing radical gender ideology on children through libraries stocked with &#8220;banned books&#8221; containing descriptions of anal rape, incest, and oral sex.
He was asked on a podcast to name something he loved that wasn&#8217;t family or friends. He answered, &#8220;trans children.&#8221; He thinks the Bible is pro-abortion. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/no-the-bible-still-doesnt-advocate-for-abortion">It’s not.</a> He believes God is &#8220;non-binary.&#8221; He declared Jesus a &#8220;radical feminist.&#8221; He said atheists are &#8220;more Christ-like&#8221; than Christians. He thinks illegal aliens are &#8220;more patriotic&#8221; than Americans. He believes there are six biological sexes. He called America&#8217;s border a &#8220;giant welcome mat.&#8221; He posts guidelines for evading ICE. He wants to abolish prisons.
In an ominous sign of what we&#8217;re seeing now, he announced in 2022 (and resurfaced in 2026) that his campaign, in one of the biggest cattle-ranching states in America, had &#8220;officially become a non-meat campaign&#8221; to combat climate change.
This, among a myriad of other reasons, including that Talarico is fully on board with red-flag gun confiscation laws and killing constitutional carry in the state where the Second Amendment isn&#8217;t just a right but damn near a religion, is precisely why real Texas is going to cattle-stomp this guy come November.
Texas is the conservative stronghold of beef, barbecue, border security, family, fossil fuels, cowboys, firearms, patriotism, and unapologetic faith. Not Seattle soy-boy progressivism wrapped in a fake clerical collar.
James Talarico doesn&#8217;t just disagree with Texas values. He is the walking, talking rejection of everything that makes this state the envy of the country.
That&#8217;s exactly why it&#8217;s so insulting and alarming that Democrats would even try to run him. At least when they tried this last time with Robert &#8220;Beto&#8221; O&#8217;Rourke (say that with a surfer-dude accent for maximum impact), he was slightly less feminine and slightly less woke. Still a slap in the face to Texans, and he was crushed in rural Texas and conservative strongholds where the margins are simply too big to overcome. Republicans carried Texas statewide by double digits in 2022, and no Democrat has won a statewide race here since 1994. That wall hasn&#8217;t moved. It&#8217;s gotten taller.
Here&#8217;s what the radical Left isn&#8217;t doing a good job of hiding: Talarico isn&#8217;t a miscalculation. He&#8217;s a business decision. Democrats know he can&#8217;t win Texas. They&#8217;re running him to light up coastal donors and build a progressive media presence, using the Lone Star State as a stage rather than a target. Which is actually more cynical than simply being wrong about the electorate. They&#8217;re not trying to represent Texans. They&#8217;re performing for people who&#8217;ve never been there.
The vehicle they&#8217;ve chosen for this performance is faith. Democrats are deliberately propping up progressive &#8220;Christian&#8221; voices to launder their most extreme agenda through the language of the pulpit. It&#8217;s the same playbook that turned mainline Protestant churches into rainbow-flag social-justice factories. They know they can&#8217;t sell open borders, child gender mutilation, and abolishing prisons on the merits, so they&#8217;re hijacking Jesus Himself to move the product. This isn&#8217;t tolerance; it&#8217;s ideological conquest dressed up in piety. If they can ever flip the biggest, baddest red state in America with this not-so-Trojan horse, the GOP will have a massive problem on its hands.
Ken Paxton, on the other hand, is from Texas. You can tell.
Tuesday night, the Trump-backed AG didn&#8217;t just win a primary. He toppled John Cornyn, the Senate&#8217;s number-two Republican and the living definition of the establishment old guard, which tells you exactly where the Texas GOP actually stands. Paxton earned it. He&#8217;s spent years suing the Biden administration to lock down the border, defend the unborn, protect the Second Amendment, and beat back woke indoctrination in schools and courts, winning more than three out of every four of those lawsuits. He&#8217;s a battle-tested bulldog who stands for beef, borders, Bibles, and bold Lone Star independence. The exact opposite of what Democrats are trying to peddle.
Texas isn&#8217;t just choosing a senator in November. They&#8217;re choosing between two entirely different theories of what Texans are. Talarico&#8217;s entire platform is built on the premise that Texans need to be managed, corrected, and guided toward someone else&#8217;s values. Paxton&#8217;s is built on the premise that they don&#8217;t. That&#8217;s the whole election in one sentence.
Conservatives are a simple folk who don&#8217;t require much. Stay out of our way. Protect our private property. Cut the regulations so we can flourish, and stop taxing away the money we work hard for. Small government. Big families. A listening ear, not a lecture.
Talarico is just too much. We&#8217;ve gotten the ick.
So choose right, Texas. Choose Texas. Choose Paxton. You know the way you&#8217;re leaning. I can tell by the way you&#8217;re two-stepping.

Woman Wearing Cowboy Hat Riding Running Horse While Holding Large Texas Flag In Grassy Field With Cloudy Sky

Everything Texans Love, This Candidate Seems To Hate

Texas Elections

The national Democratic Party completely threw out the political playbook this week, descending into the absolute gutter on social media.
After Lone Star State Attorney General Ken Paxton clobbered incumbent John Cornyn in a high-stakes GOP senatorial primary, the Dems eagerly posted a photo of their own nominee, James Talarico, declaring on X: “Fired up. Ready to go. It’s time to take back Texas.”
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Fired up. Ready to go.
It’s time to take back Texas. <a href="https://t.co/BaFsUGOgSp">pic.twitter.com/BaFsUGOgSp</a>
&mdash; Democrats (@TheDemocrats) <a href="https://x.com/TheDemocrats/status/2059445758047273316?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 27, 2026</a></blockquote>
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White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller poked the leftist bear, writing: “The Democrats made history in Texas by nominating their first transgender senate candidate.”
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The Democrats made history in Texas by nominating their first transgender senate candidate. <a href="https://t.co/KaGDLn2naP">https://t.co/KaGDLn2naP</a>
&mdash; Stephen Miller (@StephenM) <a href="https://x.com/StephenM/status/2059664091812094400?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 27, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Rather than offering a clever political retort, the official, blue-checked Democrats account completely unraveled, <a href="https://x.com/TheDemocrats/status/2059685644041892078">firing back</a> with a shockingly vulgar, schoolyard insult: “Shut up, you ugly f*ck.”
Talarico’s actual record in Texas is raising plenty of eyebrows. He’s already been dubbed “Six-Gender Jimmy” and “James Tala-freak-o,” and a look into Talarico&#8217;s platform shows a politician deeply obsessed with radical gender ideology.
The Democrat nominee’s spiritual home, St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Austin, behaves more like a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/this-book-is-gay-read-the-sexually-explicit-volumes-james-talaricos-church-gives-kids">woke indoctrination camp</a> than a house of worship. The church library proudly boasts a collection of &#8220;banned books&#8221; available to children that would make a sailor blush. The book collection includes &#8220;Gender Queer&#8221; and &#8220;All Boys Aren&#8217;t Blue,&#8221; which feature graphic descriptions and illustrations of anal rape, incest, and oral sex.
The church even hosts trainings linked to the anti-Trump “No Kings” protest movement and bills itself as a “Reproductive Freedom Congregation” where “abortion is a blessing.” Talarico himself has taken to the pulpit there, once delivered a sermon asserting that “our trans community needs abortion care too.”
Talarico&#8217;s sympathy for the transgender movement isn&#8217;t just a church hobby; it&#8217;s his legislative identity. An unearthed podcast clip revealed Talarico proclaiming that, outside of family and friends, the thing he loves most in the world is “trans children.”
On the legislative floor, Talarico has consistently gone to bat for the most extreme wings of the trans movement. He voted against protecting children from irreversible transgender surgeries and cross-sex hormones. He fought fiercely against keeping biological men out of women’s sports. Even more radical, Talarico publicly argued that parents who refuse to “affirm” a child’s sudden gender confusion are guilty of being “abusive” and “destructive.”
To top off his bizarre theology, the lawmaker has argued in committee hearings that modern science recognizes “six biological sexes” and has claimed that “God is non-binary” and Jesus was a “radical feminist.”
With the Democrats melting down into profane tantrums online and their candidate pushing extreme gender theories in a state Donald Trump won by 14 points, Texas Republicans are smelling victory.
If the Dems keep up the X-rated rhetoric, &#8220;taking back Texas&#8221; is going to remain a pipe dream.

‘Shut Up, You Ugly F*ck’: Democrats Melt Down After Stephen Miller Trolls Radically Woke Talarico

Democrats

Stephen Miller

Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico on Wednesday attempted to walk back his extreme views on Christianity and far-left gender ideology ahead of the November showdown against Republican Ken Paxton.
In an interview with CBS News, Talarico admitted some of his past comments on faith “missed the mark.” 
“You said God is non-binary. What did you mean by that?” CBS reporter Ed O&#8217;Keefe asked.
“I was being intentionally provocative with that statement, but what it means is that God can&#8217;t be defined by human categories,” Talarico replied. &#8220;The Apostle Paul, in his letter to the Galatians, says that in Christ there is neither male nor female.” 
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Talarico&#039;s Mouth Keeps Getting Him in Trouble" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/J3TXl15jr6U?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
He added: “I&#8217;m always going to stand up for Texans who are being picked on by the most powerful, most corrupt politicians in the country, and I&#8217;m going to continue doing that in this race, and hopefully in the U.S. Senate.” 
O&#8217;Keefe pressed Talarico again, asking if he regretted “talking about God that way.” 
“There are some statements that I&#8217;ve made that I certainly regret. There are statements that I&#8217;ve made where I&#8217;ve missed the mark,” Talarico conceded. “I&#8217;ll be the first to admit that, but Ken Paxton is intentionally clipping my cringy comments to distract from his career of corruption.” 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Texas state Rep. and Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico responded to GOP attacks over his past remark that God is “non-binary,” telling <a href="https://x.com/edokeefe?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@edokeefe</a> that some of his previous comments “missed the mark.”
“There are some statements that I’ve made that I certainly regret,”… <a href="https://t.co/VRsEXHo6ir">pic.twitter.com/VRsEXHo6ir</a>
— CBS News (@CBSNews) <a href="https://x.com/CBSNews/status/2059668066741445059?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 27, 2026</a></blockquote>
Talarico appeared to be referring to a viral 60-second super PAC ad supporting Paxton that compiled some of Talarico’s most controversial comments, including calling the American flag a “complicated symbol,” saying he loves transgender children, and stating that he believes there are six genders.
“Low T Talarico – too weak for Texas,” the spot said. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
NEW AD:
Low T Talarico is too WEAK and WEIRD for Texas. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TXsen?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TXsen</a> <a href="https://t.co/B6wL7pto4S">pic.twitter.com/B6wL7pto4S</a>
— Lone Star Liberty PAC (@LoneStar_PAC) <a href="https://twitter.com/LoneStar_PAC/status/2057531828085350738?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 21, 2026</a></blockquote>
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/this-book-is-gay-read-the-sexually-explicit-volumes-james-talaricos-church-gives-kids">The Daily Wire on Wednesday</a> revealed that Talarico’s church, part of the liberal mainline Presbyterian denomination, pushes radical gender ideology on children, featuring books filled with sexually explicit content.
“Do you still believe there are six biological sexes?” O&#8217;Keefe asked the U.S. Senate hopeful.
“I know there are two sexes, men and women. I also know there&#8217;s a very small percentage of people who have these chromosomal abnormalities, and I believe they deserve to be treated with dignity and respect,” Talarico replied. 
The dramatic shift in tone comes one day after Texas Republicans <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-backed-paxton-defeats-cornyn-in-texas-senate-clash?author=Jacob+Wheeler&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Trump-Backed+Paxton+Blows+Out+Cornyn+In+Texas+Senate+Showdown">overwhelmingly chose Paxton</a> as their Republican nominee.
Democrats — and their donors — are banking on Talarico’s faith worldview to help make inroads with religious voters. <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/religious-landscape-study/state/texas/">About 67% of Texas adults</a> identify as Christian, including large evangelical and Catholic communities.
CNN political analyst Nia-Malika Henderson said Talarico’s theological framing will likely fall flat — and could even backfire — with many Christians.
“That&#8217;s going to be a problem in Texas, and it&#8217;s going to be a problem for a lot of Christian voters, whether you&#8217;re a Latino, black, or white, they don&#8217;t agree with that interpretation of the faith and of Christianity,” Henderson said. “He&#8217;s a vulnerable candidate in Texas.&#8221;
The Paxton-Talarico race, which could play a major role in determining control of the upper chamber, is set for November 3.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
CNN admits that James Talarico will struggle with Christian voters across the board in Texas <a href="https://t.co/4bf1aB9gqy">pic.twitter.com/4bf1aB9gqy</a>
— Jacob Wheeler (@JWheelertv) <a href="https://x.com/JWheelertv/status/2059460071352889584?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 27, 2026</a></blockquote>

Texas State Representative Talarico Campaigns Ahead Of Primary Election

James Talarico Is Already Running From His Past Self

News

Understandably, Democratic Senate hopeful James Talarico is working overtime to try to deny any “vegan” label as he runs for office in Texas. However, a resurfaced video of the Democrat bragging about his all-vegan campaign is throwing a wrench in that mission. 
Talarico, while running for re-election to the Texas House of Representatives in 2022, suggested eating meat was morally wrong, in part because of the “existential&#8221; threat of climate change. That’s why, he boasted, that his campaign was going completely “non-meat” and ordering from vegan restaurants. 
“Not just because it’s the right thing to do, and the moral thing to do, but also, as all of you know, it’s necessary to fight climate change,” Talarico says in the video. &#8220;It is now existential that we try to reduce our meat consumption and that we try to respect animals in all aspects of society.” 
“I am proud to say that our campaign has officially become a non-meat campaign,” he announced. “We are only buying vegan products from our local vegan businesses.”
“The point is, all of us, not just policymakers, but everyone has to take personal responsibility in this effort,” he added. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
James Talarico: &#8220;I am proud to say that our campaign has officially become a non-meat campaign. We are only buying vegan products from our local vegan businesses.&#8221; <a href="https://x.com/hashtag/TXsen?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TXsen</a><a href="https://t.co/SkZZ05IXMj">pic.twitter.com/SkZZ05IXMj</a>
— Lone Star Liberty PAC (@LoneStar_PAC) <a href="https://x.com/LoneStar_PAC/status/2059466997633605735?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 27, 2026</a></blockquote>
Republicans have made fun of Talarico for being a vegan in Texas, where barbecue is part of the culture. Texas Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is running against Talarico for the Senate seat, has called him “Tofu Talarico.&#8221; And President Donald Trump recently quipped, “You can’t get elected as a vegan in Texas.” 
In the wake of the criticism, Democrats and Talarico himself have been denying any association with veganism. On Wednesday, the official X account for the Democratic National Committee posted a photo of Talarico eating barbecue.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
November, here we come. <a href="https://t.co/ux1w1WzGNO">pic.twitter.com/ux1w1WzGNO</a>
— Democrats (@TheDemocrats) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheDemocrats/status/2059661179790696699?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 27, 2026</a></blockquote>
And earlier this week, the Democrat <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/27/politics/james-talarico-vegan-policy-positions">said</a> he’s “been eating barbecue since before Ken Paxton’s first indictment.”
Criticism of Talarico doesn’t stop at his diet. Christians have called out the Democrat for his strong, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/how-james-talarico-is-trying-to-rewrite-the-bible-on-abortion?author=Amanda+Prestigiacomo&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=3&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=How+James+Talarico+Is+Trying+To+Rewrite+The+Bible+On+Abortion">supposedly Bible-backed abortion-on-demand push</a>. Talarico is also a strong supporter of “trans kids,” backing highly controversial and often irreversible trans surgeries for minors.
<div class="xdj266r x14z9mp xat24cr x1lziwak x1vvkbs x126k92a">
<div dir="auto">&#8220;James Talarico supports trans surgeries for kids,&#8221; Arkansas Republican Sen. Tom Cotton <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TomCottonAR/posts/james-talarico-supports-trans-surgeries-for-kids-talarico-said-god-is-non-binary/1522819315881054/">posted</a> on Wednesday. &#8220;Talarico said God is &#8216;non-binary,&#8217; he believes there are six genders, and he wants taxpayers to fund abortion. He has no business serving in the Senate. Ken Paxton will make a fantastic Senator for Texas and he has my full support.&#8221;</div>
</div>
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/how-james-talarico-is-trying-to-rewrite-the-bible-on-abortion?author=Amanda+Prestigiacomo&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=3&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=How+James+Talarico+Is+Trying+To+Rewrite+The+Bible+On+Abortion">How James Talarico Is Trying To Rewrite The Bible On Abortion</a>

James Talarico Keeps Denying The Vegan Label. Video Suggests Otherwise.

James Talarico Keeps Is Denying The Vegan Label. This Video Suggests Otherwise.

Republican voters made a Texas-sized gamble last night in the Lone Star state, betting that even with the baggage he carries into a general election, Trump loyalist Attorney General Ken Paxton will be able to handle the threat from a strongly backed Democratic effort behind State Rep. James Talarico. We&#8217;ve heard the left’s dreams of turning Texas blue for decades, but even with his defects as a candidate and fundraiser, Paxton still enters the final contest as the favored candidate. The larger question is whether that gamble will cost Texans and Republicans in other races around the country.
As successful as he&#8217;s been politically — with a knack for surviving challenges, lawsuits, and even an impeachment — Paxton has never been an effective individual fundraiser. The biggest gap between him and incumbent Senator John Cornyn isn&#8217;t ideology or even loyalty to the president — it&#8217;s their capability to raise money in a state marketplace that demands it.
Cornyn&#8217;s campaign doomed his effort to hold on this cycle by squandering that money on television ads, poor staffing choices, and adopting a general Washington insider tone in a cycle of voter frustration — but they had plenty of money to dump into the effort. National Republicans are pissed off about the whole situation, understanding that they may now have to push money into a contest that wouldn&#8217;t have needed it if voters had decided differently. If their reluctance to spend big on yet another contest in a critical cycle holds and Paxton&#8217;s past is prologue, he&#8217;ll have to get a leg up from Texas donors called upon to grin and bear it about a candidate they&#8217;ve been reluctant to fund.
The concern among Texas Republican politicos is less about Talarico&#8217;s potential for victory, given his lengthy history of far-Left comments about everything under the sun, and more about the newly drawn redistricted map potentially netting fewer GOP victories than hoped for, given Paxton&#8217;s electoral appeal. While Cornyn and fellow Senator Ted Cruz have consistently held the line among Hispanic voters (in his Senate race, Cruz won Hispanic voters by 6 points over Colin Allred two years ago), Paxton has lagged. The latest polling has Talarico winning Hispanics in the state by almost 30 points, and such turnout from those voters in November could be a major drag on Republican congressional candidates down-ticket.
The fear in Washington is that Texas will now draw resources necessary to hold seats in Maine, North Carolina, and Ohio — potentially detracting from the strong GOP hopes of taking Senate seats in Michigan and Georgia. If Senate Majority Leader John Thune and National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Tim Scott decide to keep their focus on those five contests, Texas may be left on its own to get Paxton across the finish line.
The unpredictable element here is how much the national media will play in this contest. In the past, we&#8217;ve seen the national glow-ups for candidates like Beto O&#8217;Rourke totally backfire, turning a fairly middle-of-the-road El Paso Democrat into a progressive wet dream, the skateboard-riding bass player that made Austin swoon but who ultimately had no path to victory statewide. Will Talarico get the same treatment? He already is, though every interview he does betrays that his version of non-binary six gender abortion-loving Christianity is anathema in the Valley.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Texas state Rep. and Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico responded to GOP attacks over his past remark that God is “non-binary,” telling <a href="https://twitter.com/edokeefe?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@edokeefe</a> that some of his previous comments “missed the mark.”
“There are some statements that I’ve made that I certainly regret,”… <a href="https://t.co/VRsEXHo6ir">pic.twitter.com/VRsEXHo6ir</a>
— CBS News (@CBSNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/CBSNews/status/2059668066741445059?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 27, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Paxton is still the odds-on favorite. To a certain extent, the lengthy catalog of his failings is largely known to voters, while Talarico is still a fresh face who hasn&#8217;t confronted the scrutiny of running statewide in an old-school Texas knife fight. For Republicans who care about holding the Senate against a blue wave, they have hope that Paxton&#8217;s sins are already baked in, and that Talarico&#8217;s approach to running continues to look more like prep for his ideal next job — co-hosting a religion podcast for The New York Times.

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