What to know about James Talarico’s record and his past comments (no, he’s not vegan)

By Patrick Svitek, CNN

(CNN) — 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.

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 — but Paxton’s history of scandals and criticism from within his own party has stirred Democratic hopes that Talarico can beat him.

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.

GOP officials have mocked him repeatedly as a “vegan,” 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 “non-meat campaign” for the Texas House.

Here’s what else to know about Talarico:

He’s the rare Democrat who speaks openly about his faith

Talarico wears his faith on his sleeve. He is a Presbyterian seminarian and working to become an ordained minister.

He’s 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 “deeply un-Christian” 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.

“That’s a belief I hold not despite my faith, but because of my faith,” Talarico said in a recent podcast. “Jesus never talks about abortion. The Bible is silent on abortion.”

Republicans have denounced Talarico’s efforts to connect religion to politics. At Paxton’s runoff night party, his son-in-law, Daniel Hayworth, led a prayer to God that said Talarico “twists your word and spits upon your name.”

He’ll have to overcome past statements on social issues

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.

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 “Six-Gender Jimmy” in recent days.

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.

Talarico shot back in a media appearance Tuesday, saying he has “been eating barbecue since before Ken Paxton’s first indictment.”

He’s been focused on billionaires and corruption

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 “the most corrupt politician in America.”

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.

On the campaign trail, Talarico has argued the biggest divide in politics is not between left and right but “top versus bottom.”

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’s allies have argued that he supports campaign finance reform but will not unilaterally disarm while Republicans also rely on billionaire donors.

He’s tried to tap into Democrats’ frustration with their party

While he’s 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.

Talarico has told his party that “it’s time to start flipping tables,” another biblical reference from the Gospel of Matthew.

But even before the current political moment, Talarico has spoken out against his party. When Joe Biden was president, Talarico criticized Democratic leaders for “spineless talking points” and said they needed to do more to fight “Trumpism.”

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.

He has some similarities – and differences – with Beto O’Rourke

Many Democrats remember the last close Senate election in Texas, when Democratic Rep. Beto O’Rourke 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.

Talarico and O’Rourke share some similarities. Like O’Rourke 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. “You have a place in our campaign,” Talarico wrote on X.

But unlike O’Rourke, 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’Rourke did over the same period in 2018, and has run close to Cornyn or Paxton in polls testing hypothetical November matchups.

Trump also took a keen interest in defeating O’Rourke, 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 “do some nice, big, beautiful rallies for Ken.”

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