Colbert accused of election 'stunt' to push Talarico ahead of Crockett in Texas Democratic primary
Whether it was the tipping point will be up for debate, but some media observers are arguing James Talarico's late-night interview controversy with liberal CBS host Stephen Colbert helped him defeat firebrand Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett in Tuesday's Democratic Senate primary.
Talarico, a 36-year old state representative, will try to become the first Democrat since 1988 to win a Senate election in Texas; his opponent will either be Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, or state Attorney General Ken Paxton, who are heading to a May runoff. FCC insiders previously told Fox News Digital they believed Colbert attempted to put his thumb on the scale, with the party establishment thinking Talarico is more palatable in a general election.
Colbert helped stir massive attention for Talarico by insisting he couldn’t air his interview of the Democratic state lawmaker last month because CBS was pressured by FCC guidelines. CBS and the FCC countered the notion that he was actively prevented from airing the interview, however.
"That stunt – and it was a stunt – gave Talarico more publicity than all the advertisements he possibly could purchase," Joe Concha told Fox News Digital.
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"Colbert always has been an activist, and now he just proved it by taking out a Black female candidate he didn’t like at the ballot box," Concha continued. "And not one so-called media reporter will have any issue with this. "
The FCC announced in January it was enforcing its "statutory equal opportunities requirement," a policy that allots equal airtime for legally qualified candidates on the ballot on the broadcast networks. For decades, late-night talk shows and daytime talk shows were exempt from the policy because they were classified by their networks as "bona fide" news programs.
Colbert lashed out at the policy, accusing Carr and the FCC of trying to "silence" him and his fellow liberal late-night comedians like Jimmy Kimmel and Seth Meyers. Weeks later, Colbert generated headlines when he told viewers that CBS blocked his interview with Talarico from airing on television.
"He was supposed to be here, but we were told in no uncertain terms by our network's lawyers, who called us directly, that we could not have him on the broadcast," Colbert told viewers on Feb. 16.
After citing the policy, Colbert added, "Let's just call this what it is. Donald Trump's administration wants to silence anyone who says anything bad about Trump on TV because all Trump does is watch TV, OK? He's like a toddler who has had too much screen time."
Colbert revealed that the Talarico interview would be shared on his show's YouTube page, which would sidestep the FCC's policy. The notion of an interview that was ostensibly forbidden was irresistible, leading to a social media frenzy and flurry of headlines.
Talarico told Colbert Trump was afraid of Texas being flipped by Democrats, playing up the notion that the government had blocked the interview from television, and called it "cancel culture" from the top.
The extra attention led to the interview receiving more than 9 million views on YouTube, countless more across other social media platforms, and Talarico touting a $2.5 million fundraising haul within the first 24 hours.
The next day, as liberal outrage grew toward the network, CBS released a statement insisting it did not block the Talarico interview, saying in part, "THE LATE SHOW decided to present the interview through its YouTube channel with on-air promotion on the broadcast rather than potentially providing the equal-time options."
FCC chairman Brendan Carr also shot down the narrative in an interview last month with Fox News host Laura Ingraham.
"This was Democrat-on-Democrat violence," Carr said. "CBS was very clear that Colbert could run the interview that he wanted with that political candidate. They just said, you may have to comply with equal time… But instead of doing that, they claimed that they were victims."
NewsBusters managing editor Curtis Houck said Wednesday, "There is no doubt Talarico's mini-soap opera with Colbert played a role in the results."
"Colbert had wanted to give Talarico a boost in this close primary and, as one of the left's leading figures, took it upon himself to make sure a progressive Black woman was sent home. The fallout with CBS couldn't have gone any better for Talarico even though the CBS suits were spot-on about fearing Colbert had run astray of equal time rules," Houck told Fox News Digital.
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"Talarico was able to play martyr and raise oodles of cash while falsely claiming Donald Trump censored him," Houck continued. "This was yet another example of how the so-called fact checkers let liberals make any and all ludicrous accusations without pushback."
"The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" and Crockett’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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.
Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser, Alex Miller and the Associated Press contributed to this report.