Talarico Deviates From the Beto Model
Article excerpt
The Democratic Senate candidate from Texas is betting on faith, oil, and a little ideological flexibility.
James Talarico speaking at a rally on May 27, 2026. (Photo: Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)
WHEN JAMES TALARICO FIRST STARTED to take off last summer, moderate-minded Democratic officials were anxious. They’d seen videos of him in the state House talking about how “God is nonbinary” and were convinced that he was too liberal to win statewide. They thought he’d bungle the party’s admittedly slim chance at flipping the Texas Senate seat.
Some moderate operatives were so worried about the prospect of Talarico winning the nomination that they tried to boost retired NASA astronaut Terry Virts as an alternative candidate. Virts even put out an attack ad warning that Talarico’s past woke comments would lead to Republicans holding the seat. But Virts never caught traction. He dropped out four months before the primary.
Three months have now passed since Talarico won the party nomination and some of the once-panicking moderate Democratic operatives are starting to feel slightly reassured. As they see it, Talarico isn’t running the same playbook from Beto O’Rourke’s 2018 Senate campaign that came close, but ultimately squandered a similar opportunity to flip a GOP seat.
He’s adapted himself to Texas’s political landscape.
In the past few months, Talarico has
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