Texas Democrat Weighs Long-Shot Senate Bid

A little-known Texas state representative, James Talarico, is said to be considering a run for the Democrat nomination for a U.S. Senate seat from the Lone Star State.

Three other, better-known Texas Democrats are either already in, or considering jumping into, the race. Whoever wins would face off against either Republican incumbent Sen. John Cornyn or Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in the November 2026 general election.

Talarico has served in the Texas Legislature since 2018. A former middle school teacher, he is a graduate of Texas’ flagship state college, the University of Texas at Austin, and Harvard University, where he studied education policy.

Talarico also attended a seminary in Austin affiliated with the liberal mainline Presbyterian Church (USA) and has been touted as an example of a Democrat Christian in the public square.

It’s difficult to avoid a comparison between Talarico and former Biden administration Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who previously served as mayor of South Bend, Indiana. Both are Harvard alumni and Democrats from solidly red states. Both embrace liberal forms of Christianity as a part of their political brand. (Buttigieg is an Episcopalian.) Even Talarico seems to have acknowledged the resume similarities, having taken assistance from Buttigieg campaign staff alumni.

But despite his seminarian pedigree, Talarico has opposed forms of faith he doesn’t like in the public square.

For example, the state legislator decried a Texas bill that would have mandated putting the Ten Commandments in every public classroom in the Lone Star State. 

“This bill to me is not only unconstitutional, it’s not only un-American, I think it is also deeply un-Christian. And I say that because I believe this bill is idolatrous,” Talarico declared to the bill’s sponsor in a social media post.

“I believe it is exclusionary. And I believe that it is arrogant, and those three things, in my reading of the Gospel, are diametrically opposed to the teachings of Jesus,” he added.

Talarico also appears comforted when his brand of Christianity is endorsed by nonbelievers.

“The thing that warms my heart the most is people who say, ‘I’m an atheist, agnostic, or I left the church or I left religion. But this is the kind of Christianity I can believe in,’” Talarico told Politico’s Adam Wren in 2023. 

Talarico has not been shy about wading into the most controversial social issues of the day. In 2021, he disputed the idea that there were just two biological sexes. 

“The one thing I want us to all be aware of is that modern science obviously recognizes that there are many more than two biological sexes,” Talarico said at a hearing for a Texas bill to ban transgender-identifying males in girls sports. “In fact, there are six, which honestly, Rep. Hefner, surprised me, too,” Talarico contended, addressing the bill’s sponsor, Republican state Rep. Cole Hefner.

“The point is that biologically speaking, scientifically speaking, sex is a spectrum, and oftentimes can be very ambiguous,” Talarico asserted.

Talarico received a reprimand at the time by Beth Stelzer, the founder of the Save Women’s Sports coalition, who was testifying on behalf of the bill at the hearing.

“The other—quote—‘sexes’ mentioned are disorders of sexual development that are variants of XX or XY chromosomes. They are still disorders of male or female,” Stelzer explained. 

Talarico has also appeared critical of greater transparency in public schools.

Consider the former teacher’s discussion of legislation enacted in 2021 that provisionally required human sexuality education taught in Texas public schools to be an opt-in system approved by parents of students, rather than an opt-out system. Talarico compared the change in policy to allowing students to opt out of a form of science instruction.

“And so, my concern is that maybe the theory of evolution will be opt-in, right? Because we have a large segment of the population that has a problem with the theory of evolution … a personal belief that maybe conflicts with what we all agree should be taught in public schools,” Talarico contended at a meeting of the Texas House Public Education Committee in 2022.

Talarico did not reply to a request for comment prior to publication of this article.

Former Rep. Colin Allred, D-Texas, who lost a 2024 Senate contest to Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, last week announced his candidacy for Cornyn’s Senate seat. Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke and Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, are reportedly also considering jumping into the 2026 race.

If Talarico were to win his party’s nomination, he would face a daunting challenge. No Democrat has won election to statewide office in Texas since 1994.

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