Senate candidate James Talarico spent much of a CNN town hall Wednesday night explaining his Christian faith, defending his abortion-rights stance and arguing that Texans have more in common than the political system would have them believe. The former public-school teacher and Presbyterian seminarian student was challenged directly by audience members on abortion, biblical authority, gender-affirming care, national debt, Ukraine and immigration during a series of one-on-one debates that formed the centerpiece of the event. The confrontational format produced some of the clearest examples yet of how Talarico is attempting to build a statewide coalition as he takes on state Attorney General Ken Paxton in the Texas U.S.
Talarico, seeking to become the first Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate from Texas since 1988, invoked fellow Texan and former President Lyndon B. Johnson as he argued for sending a teacher to Washington.
"I am tired of us being divided into teams: left versus right, blue versus red, urban versus rural," Talarico told the audience. "The truth is, we're all on the same team." The message came as the Republican attorney general, who did not attend the event, announced the launch of a statewide bus tour that will start Saturday, according to his post. "Texans don't back down, and neither do I," Paxton wrote on X hours before the event.
"I have one message for the far-left extremists who are trying to destroy Texas: Come and Take It." During the town hall, Paxton also attacked Talarico's energy record in a separate social media post, writing that the Democrat had "tried to dismantle the oil and gas industry" and was waging a "war on Texas energy." Newsweek reached out to Paxton's campaign for comment. About 80 minutes into the town hall, Talarico noted that he hadn't mentioned Paxton's name at all. "We cannot afford Ken Paxton's corruption," Talarico said to close the event.
Talarico, 37, has emerged as one of his party's most recognizable figures in Texas politics. Born in Round Rock, he attended Texas public schools before earning a degree in government from the University of Texas at Austin and a master's degree in education policy from Harvard University. Before entering politics, Talarico taught sixth-grade language arts at Rhodes Middle School in San Antonio, an experience he frequently cites as pivotal in shaping his political worldview.
He later worked in educational nonprofit leadership before launching a campaign for the Texas House in 2018, flipping a suburban district previously held by Republicans. A Presbyterian seminarian whose grandfather was a Baptist preacher, Talarico repeatedly emphasized the role faith plays in his public life. "My faith teaches me servant leadership, the idea that being a leader means being a servant," he said.
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