Who is James Talarico?

October 10, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

Who is James Talarico?

In March 2025, a Texas state representative named James Talarico beat Jasmine Crockett in the Democratic primary for Texas Attorney General. Now he's running against Ken Paxton, and the polls show him up three or four points. Cook Political Report calls the race a toss-up. The right is pouring tens of millions into the state. On paper, Talarico looks like a Democratic experiment: a clean-cut, churchgoing former sixth-grade teacher and seminary student who quotes scripture on the campaign trail and went on Joe Rogan to talk about Jesus for three hours. The theory is simple—Texas is full of Christians, Ken Paxton is damaged, so run a guy who sounds like a youth pastor and see if the state finally flips blue. But the story underneath is more complicated, and the people who know Talarico best have been saying things on tape that suggest the moderate Christian image is a campaign costume.

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What you'll learn

1 (02:00) **The James Talarico Mystery** - Ben introduces the Texas Senate race as a test case for how Democrats will try to win in red states, framing the candidate as "James Talefrico" and previewing that the moderate Christian image will be shown as a facade.
2 (03:16) **The Biography** - A quick background on Talarico's upbringing and career path from Round Rock to the Texas House.
3 (04:48) **The Primary Victory** - Talarico beat Jasmine Crockett in the Democratic primary and now faces Ken Paxton in the general election.
4 (05:00) **"A Christian Who Hates Christianity"** - On a 2021 activist theology podcast, Talarico makes a series of radical statements that contradict his moderate campaign image.
5 (06:14) **God is Non-Binary** - On the Texas House floor in 2021, Talarico makes controversial theological and scientific claims during debates on transgender issues.
6 (06:48) **The Sermon: "God is Not a Christian"** - In October 2023, Talarico preaches a sermon at his home church that rejects core Christian doctrines.
7 (07:29) **The Rogan Abortion Argument** - On Joe Rogan's show in July 2025, Talarico uses the Annunciation story to make a biblical case for abortion.

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Guests on this episode

James Talarico Jasmine Crockett Ken Paxton

Show Notes

Could the Texas Senate election become one of the biggest political stories of the 2026 midterms? Ben Shapiro takes a closer look at the Howdy Doody Democrat James Talarico and his comments about hating Christianity, loving drag queens, and his record on trans-ing the kids from the Texas State House. Here’s everything you need to know ahead of this November's election.

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