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James Talarico

James Talarico

Democrat

Candidate for U.S. Senate

About

Texas House of Representatives (2018-present). Former Central Texas Executive Director of Reasoning Mind, a nonprofit providing technology to low-income classrooms (2014-2018). Middle school Language Arts teacher (2011-2013).
Campaign Website Campaign Contributions Party Platform

Conservative Endorsements

  • None

Candidate Videos

Texas Democratic Convention
"All Faiths" Prayer in the Texas House
Sermon Against Christian Nationalism
Sermon on Separation of Church & State
Redirecting Prison Budgets to Social Programs
Debate on Gun Laws Reform
Texas Doesn't Need Voter ID
Rally Against ICE

Survey Responses

Ballotpedia (scroll down for prior election cycles)
Community Impact

Notable Quotes

“In my faith, God is non-binary.”
“Undocumented Americans are folks who work in our businesses, learn in our schools and contribute to our communities — but lack citizenship documentation. As a Texas legislator, they’re also my constituents.”
“We already have a lot of voter suppression in Texas. It’s baked into our laws.”
“I think we produce some of the best drag queens in the nation. And I didn’t want any legislation to target them or hurt that industry.”

Positions on Texas Eagle Forum Legislative Priorities

Border Security & Immigration
  • VOTED AGAINST EXPANDING BORDER ENFORCEMENT, creating state crimes for illegal entry into Texas, and authorizing Texas judges to order deportation to the foreign country of origin in certain cases (Senate Bill 4, 2023). [1, 2, 3]
  • VOTED AGAINST APPROPRIATING FUNDS FOR BORDER SECURITY, including constructing an additional border barrier and increasing the number of Texas National Guard and other law enforcement personnel at the border (House Bill 9, 2021). [1, 2, 3, 4]
  • SAID THAT ICE is “terrorizing our country.” [1, 2]
  • ENCOURAGED ILLEGAL ALIENS TO "FIGHT BACK" and shared how they could evade detention by posting a graphic to social media. [1, 2]
  • WANTS TO CREATE A PATH TO CITIZENSHIP for "the immigrants who have been here the longest and certain groups like spouses and DREAMers...” [1, 2, 3, 4]
Secure Our Elections
  • BROKE QUORUM TO BLOCK THE ELECTION INTEGRITY PROTECTION ACT in the Texas House with fellow Democrats (Senate Bill 1, 2021).[1][2][3]
  • VOTED AGAINST INCREASING PENALTIES FOR ILLEGAL ALIENS voting in Texas elections from a Class A misdemeanor to a second-degree felony (House Bill 1243, 2023).[1][2][3]
  • CO-AUTHORED A BILL TO ALLOW RANKED-CHOICE VOTING in municipal elections (House Bill 2825, 2023). This newer method of tallying votes can allow marginal candidates not supported by a majority of voters to be elected.[1][2][3][4]
Education Issues
  • VOTED AGAINST EDUCATION SAVINGS ACCOUNTS (ESAs) in Texas and proposed an amendment to have voters decide on the ballot rather than pass the bill in session (Senate Bill 2, 2025). [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]
  • SPONSORED THE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT authorizing a local-option property tax exemption carve-out for child-care facilities (SJR 64, 2023). [1, 2, 3, 4]
  • WANTS UNIVERSAL PRE-K for every 3- and 4-year-old while recognizing it requires raising local taxes, prioritizes investing in childcare for children under 3, and protecting Head Start, the federal program offering free early childhood and family-support services. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
Protect Childhood Innocence
  • VOTED AGAINST STRENGTHENING SCHOOL BOARD/PARENTAL OVERSIGHT of "indecent" or "harmful" library materials that are "inconsistent with community values" (Senate Bill 13, 2025). Strongly opposed the bill in floor discussions. [1, 2]
  • VOTED AGAINST RESTRICTING SEXUALLY EXPLICIT MATERIALS in school libraries and adding parental consent rules for some content (House Bill 900, 2023). Spoke against the bill in committee. [1, 2, 3, 4]
  • ABSTAINED FROM VOTING ON RESTRICTING "SEXUALLY ORIENTED PERFORMANCES" on public property or in the presence of minors (Senate Bill 12, 2023). [1, 2]
Gender Issues
  • VOTED AGAINST THE PARENTS BILL OF RIGHTS that prohibits school employees from “assisting a student with social transitioning,” bans student clubs based on sexual orientation or gender identity, and strengthens parental notification/consent requirements for health/psychological services, sex education (opt-in), and related topics (Senate Bill 12, 2025). [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
  • VOTED AGAINST PROTECTING FEMALE SPORTS and called men in women’s sports a "far-right conspiracy" (Senate Bill 15, 2023 and House Bill 25, 2021, 3rd Session). [1, 2, 3, 4]
  • VOTED AGAINST THE WOMEN'S PRIVACY ACT/BATHROOM BILL, which requires government-owned restrooms with multiple stalls, locker rooms, showers, and changing rooms, including in public schools, to be designated and used according to biological sex (Senate Bill 8, 2025, 2nd Special Session). [1, 2]
  • STATED, “In my faith, God is non-binary.” [1, 2]
Government-Sanctioned Addiction
  • VOTED FOR PLACING CASINO LEGISLATION ON THE BALLOT (HJR 155, 2023) and received $59,000 from the Texas Sands pro-gambling PAC backed by megadonor Miriam Adelson in 2024. [1, 2, 3]
  • AUTHORED A BILL TO LEGALIZE CANNABIS, expunge past convictions, and use tax revenue for early childhood education (House Bill 4089, 2021). [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
  • VOTED AGAINST THE BAN ON THC/HEMP PRODUCTS (Senate Bill 3, 2025, vetoed by the Governor). [1, 2]
Protect Life
  • AUTHORED A BILL TO REPEAL THE TEXAS HEARTBEAT ACT and the Human Life Protection Act (House Bill 5310, 2025). [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
  • PROPOSED A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO PROTECT ACCESS TO ABORTIONS by prohibiting the legislature from restricting an individual’s access to abortion and related health care (HJR 204, 2025). [1, 2]
  • STATED THAT HE SUPPORTS EUTHANASIA LEGISLATION that grants citizens the right to choose to die on a 2020 political survey. [1]
Islamification of Texas
  • PRAISED ISLAM FOR SHAPING HIS RELIGIOUS BELIEFS and said that “Islamic Mystics” shaped his faith “as much as” Christians. [1]
  • AUTHORED A BILL TO ALLOW IMAMS TO PERFORM MARRIAGE CEREMONIES in Texas (House Bill 2039, 2021), thanking the Muslim activists who helped him write the bill. [1, 2, 3]
  • WANTS TO TAKE VIGOROUS ACTION AGAINST ISLAMOPHOBIA AND ANTISEMITISM and pass the DO NO HARM Act (S.894, 2025) in the Senate. [1, 2, 3]
National Security
  • VOTED AGAINST THE ADVERSARIAL LAND OWNERSHIP ACT (Senate Bill 17, 2025). This law restricts foreign adversaries from acquiring real property in Texas. [1, 2, 3]
  • WANTS TO “deepen cooperation with NATO and the EU…” [1]
  • SAID IT IS OUR DUTY TO DEFEND UKRAINE against Russian aggression, "address human rights abuses like those being suffered by the people of Sudan, and use every ounce of our diplomatic and financial leverage to secure peace in Israel and Palestine." [1] 
Other Constitutional Issues
  • VOTED AGAINST DISPLAYING THE TEN COMMANDMENTS in public schools, debating the bill on faith grounds as "un-Christian" and unconstitutional (Senate Bill 10, 2025). [1, 2, 3, 4]
  • VOTED AGAINST CONSTITUTIONAL CARRY, which allows permitless carry of a handgun for persons 21 years of age or older (House Bill 1927, 2021) . [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
  • FAVORS RED-FLAG GUN LAWS and wants to establish universal background checks for gun sales. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]
  • VOTED AGAINST PROHIBITING REQUIRED COVID VACCINATIONS as a condition of employment by private employers or contractors (Senate Bill 7, 2023) and supported eliminating religious exemptions for vaccinations. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]
  • VOTED AGAINST BANNING A STATE INCOME TAX through constitutional amendments (HJR 38, 2019) and against banning estate/death taxes (HJR 2, 2025). [1, 2, 3]
  • SPOKE ABOUT REPARATIONS, stating, “We have to correct injustices from our past…Until we as a society are committed to righting those past wrongs, of restoring our black communities, we’re never going to be able to get this country on track.” Pointed to policies such as tuition relief, homeownership grants, and “baby bonds” to help build generational wealth in Black communities. [1, 2, 3, 4]
  • CALLED FOR SLASHING POLICE AND PRISON BUDGETS and redirecting the money to social programs in a 2022 speech, stating, "A nonviolent government would refuse to repay evil with evil." Also called for an end to "over-policing" in the wake of George Floyd's death. [1, 2]

Notes from Local Researchers

  • MANY OF HIS PUBLIC STATEMENTS ARE CONSIDERED HERETICAL by evangelical Christians and Catholics. This is relevant to Christians as they evaluate how these would factor into his lawmaking and the direction of our state and nation (Christian founding vs. Leftist views on Islam and trans inclusive issues, etc.). Please read A Pastoral Statement on James Talarico from U.S. Pastor Council.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11]
  • HAS SHIFTED HIS TALKING POINTS toward a more moderate stance for this election. Voters should review his voting record and past public statements rather than relying only on his current media appearances and talking points.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]
  • AUTHORED THE TEXAS CLIMATE ACTION ACT which would have required the state to set and meet greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets of at least 50% below 1990 levels by 2030 and at least 90% below 1990 levels by 2050 (House Bill 2206, 2021). His campaign later stated that he supports oil and gas, but his support has been for large bipartisan bills, not innovative expansion bills.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]