‘Open borders Trump-hating radical’: GOP unleashes early blitz on Texas Democrat Talarico

AUSTIN, TEXAS — Republicans didn't wait for the call in the Democratic Senate primary in Texas to target James Talarico, the Democrats' nominee in the high-stakes midterm election battle.

Hours before the Associated Press morning reported early on Wednesday that Talarico, a Democratic state lawmaker with a surging national profile, defeated Rep. Jasmine Crockett, a nationally known politician and progressive firebrand, Republicans lost no time in framing Talarico as a "far-left radical."

Talarico, a 36-year-old former middle school teacher and Presbyterian seminarian, is trying to become the first Democrat in nearly four decades to win a Senate election in right-leaning Texas, as he'll face off against the winner of a bruising Republican primary runoff on May 26 between longtime incumbent Sen. John Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

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This year's Senate showdown in Texas is one of a handful across the country that could determine if Republicans hold their majority in the chamber in the midterm elections. The GOP currently controls the chamber 53-47.

"James Talarico is an open borders, Trump-hating radical who can never be allowed to set foot in the U.S. Senate," National Republican Senatorial Committee Communications Director Joanna Rodriguez charged in a statement Tuesday evening.

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Paxton, in a primary night speech in Dallas, claimed that Talarico is a "far-left radical who wants to abolish ICE. Says God is non-binary — I'm not even sure I know what that means — and thinks Christians are commanded to put boys in girls' sports. He will do nothing more than be a puppet for Chuck Schumer and the national Democrats."

And Cornyn, in a Fox News Digital interview on Sunday, argued that both Talarico and Crockett "should be running for the Senate in California, not in Texas. They're way out of the mainstream in Texas."

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A veteran Republican operative who works in Senate races described Talarico as "Beto 2.0," as he referred to former Democratic Rep. Beto O'Rourke, the one-time rising star who came up short as the 2018 Democratic Senate nominee in trying to knock off conservative firebrand Sen. Ted Cruz, and who later ran unsuccessfully for the White House and for Texas governor.

"Republicans recognize that Talarico's a formidable candidate but also know that Texas is still a pretty conservative state, and they're going to try and brand him a far-left radical so that center-right voters and independent voters in the state don't choose him over the Republican nominee," longtime Texas-based GOP consultant Brendan Steinhauser told Fox News Digital.

"Republicans are going to find every speech on the Texas House floor that Talarico gave that was progressive in nature or to the left, and they're going to use that time and again to try and brand him as a far left guy. That's the kind of playbook I expect, and they're not going to waste anytime doing that," he added.

Talarico, who was first elected to the Texas House in 2018 by flipping a red district in northeast Austin and surrounding suburbs, highlighted his ability to win over Republican voters. He campaigned across the state, including in areas where Democratic candidates don't often show up. And he questioned whether Crockett could run a competitive general election campaign.

While dramatically outraising and outspending Crockett the past two months, Talarico cast himself as the underdog in the primary battle against the better-known congresswoman.

The two-term Crockett, who represents primarily Black and Hispanic majority neighborhoods in Dallas and surrounding inner suburbs south of the city, grabbed plenty of attention for her clashes with Republicans on the high-profile House Oversight Committee, including one with then-Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia in 2024 that went viral.

She also made headlines last year for calling longtime Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas "Governor Hot Wheels."

Talarico, who speaks openly about his faith and how it shapes his progressive policy agenda, last year started garnering national attention through a slew of social media appearances that went viral. Also boosting his profile were his TikTok videos, which have grabbed millions of views, and his appearance last July on Joe Rogan's top-rated podcast.

Rogan suggested during the interview that Talarico should run for president.

A month later, Talarico was a regular on the cable news networks, conducting dozens of national media interviews, as he and dozens of his fellow Democrats in the Texas House fled the state for weeks, to delay the eventual Trump-led redistricting push in Texas to create up to five more right-leaning congressional seats

Talarico launched his Senate campaign a month later, in September.

Last month, Talarcio grabbed even more national attention when his appearance on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" was bumped off broadcast TV and instead appeared on YouTube. Colbert accused his network, CBS, of blocking the interview by citing guidelines from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

The controversy appeared to boost Talarico, with his campaign saying they hauled in $2.5 million in fundraising in the 24 hours "following his censored" interview.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee chair, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, on Wednesday touted that "Talarico has spent years fighting for Texans in the state house, where he went to bat for teachers and students, fought to lower the cost of health care, and took on corruption in politics. Now, he’s ready to take that fight to the U.S. Senate."

And Talarico was earning praise from both the center and left of his party.

"Talarico’s victory shows that voters are hungry for Democrats to fight boldly for workers, corporate accountability, and increased quality of life — not just run against Donald Trump. Talking to voters, it’s clear they are both inspired by Talarico’s economic populist message and believe it can win in the general election," Progressive Change Campaign Committee co-founder Adam Green said.

And Adam Jentleson, president of the center-left Searchlight Institute, said Talarico's victory "was a refreshing break with the past of running on division and polarization, and an embrace of candidates who can unite broad swaths of Americans behind the big tent, supermajority coalition we need."