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FIRST ON FOX: A Democratic hopeful running for U.S. Senate is building a brand of civility in politics, but four years ago he argued that “radicalized White men” were the nation’s greatest domestic terrorist threat.
Texas state Rep. Jame Talarico, D-Texas, threw his hat into the Democratic primary in the Lone Star State to run against former Rep. Colin Allred, D-Texas. Talarico launched his campaign earlier this month with a message that he wanted to restore unity and quiet the divisive noise that comes from social media and cable news.
Both are vying for the Democratic nomination to run for Sen. John Cornyn’s, R-Texas, seat. Cornyn is currently engaged in a tough primary challenge against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
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In the wake of the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, Talarico condemned his murder and, despite a wide difference in their politics, said he found a middle ground in their shared faith.
“I am tired of being pitted against my neighbor,” Talarico said in the hours following the news of Kirk’s death. “I am tired of being told to hate my neighbor. People across the political spectrum in this state and in this country are hungry for a different kind of politics, not a politics of fear, not a politics of hate, not a politics of violence, but a politics of love, a love that can heal what’s broken in this country.”
But four years earlier, he was using fiery rhetoric online.
“Black Americans in a church. Mexican Americans in a store. Asian Americans in a spa,” Talarico said.
“Radicalized White men are the greatest domestic terrorist threat in our country,” he continued.
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Talarico’s post that day was in response to a mass shooting at three spas in Atlanta on March 16, 2021, by suspect Robert Aaron Long that left eight people dead.
He went on to write in the same thread, “As a White man, I’m susceptible to the same radicalization,” and he said he planned to draft and file diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) legislation in the Texas legislature.
Joanna Rodriguez, a spokesperson for the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), charged that “in the last few years, Democrat James Talarico has falsely accused Republicans of trying to create an ‘authoritarian, Christian Nationalist state’ and a ‘Christofascist theocracy.'”
“He is one of many extremist, far-left Democrats that will vilify Republicans at any cost because it gets him praise from the woke mob and Texas voters will never elect him to statewide office because of it,” she said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
JT Ennis, a campaign spokesperson for Talarico, fired back, “For years, James has called out the billionaire-run algorithms that often radicalize young men in dark corners of the internet.”
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“As a young man himself, James feels a responsibility to speak out against this for-profit rage economy that’s destroying our youth — recently addressing this crisis in his widely circulated comments calling for a politics of love in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination,” he said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “That’s how we turn down the temperature.”
There are other instances in that same year when Talarico used fiery rhetoric against prominent Texas politicians, notably Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Gov. Greg Abbott, R-Texas.
On Jan. 6, 2021, Talarico posted, “You sacrificed your country for your ambition. You’re not a senator, you’re a traitor,” in response to Cruz’s calls for people “storming the Capitol” to stop.
And on Nov. 19, 2021, Talarico blasted Abbott for celebrating Kyle Rittenhouse’s not guilty verdict after being charged for fatally shooting two people during a night of civil unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, following the police shooting of Jacob Blake.
“Are you our governor or a white supremacist troll?” he asked at the time.
Ennis also defended Talarico’s rhetoric in those moments.
“Texans need leaders who fight for their principles — like calling out those who promote insurrection and violence — while also working across the aisle to deliver bipartisan legislation that gets things done for working people,” he said. “James is that kind of leader.”
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