James Talarico's actions throughout the Democratic Senate primary in Texas made clear his lack of respect for black voters and their God-given right to elect a candidate of their choice. In what seemed like a major reversal, the boy-faced candidate insisted that "our black neighbors" should be allowed to "shape [their] own destinies ... through the vote."
Talarico, whom some have described as the "whitest man alive," recently denounced the Republican-backed SAVE America Act, which would require voters to show photo identification and proof of U.S. citizenship to participate in federal elections. Democrats have long argued that voter-ID requirements are "racist" because they impose barriers that, in their view, most black people are incapable of navigating.
"We as human beings have the right to shape our own destinies, and we do that through the vote. And so many brave Americans—so many brave black Americans—have fought and died for that right," Talarico said. "They are trying to rob our neighbors, particularly our black neighbors, of those God-given rights."
Talarico's moral preening notwithstanding, most polls indicate that voter-ID laws are overwhelmingly popular among Americans of all racial backgrounds. A Pew survey conducted in 2025 found that 76 percent of black Americans were in favor of requiring photo identification to vote.
Thus, one could argue that Talarico's opposition to voter ID is perfectly consistent with his demonstrated preference for denying black voters the right to see their preferences realized at the ballot box.
Talarico won the U.S. Senate nomination by defeating a black congresswoman, Jasmine Crockett, in the Democratic primary. Black voters overwhelmingly supported Crockett. She won almost 88 percent of the vote in Harris County's majority-black precincts, which mirrored the findings of most pre-election polls. Alas, Talarico denied them the right to shape their own destinies, snatching the nomination in part by racking up huge margins in affluent white areas.
"It was racist," Crockett said in July. "It was a racist race." She refuses to join Talarico on the campaign trail because she doesn't think her black supporters would approve. "Honestly, some people just not going to be sold on certain people that are running in the state of Texas," she explained.
During the campaign, Talarico came under fire for allegedly calling former congressman Colin Allred (D., Texas) a "mediocre black man." Some experts urged Talarico to follow the noble example set by Matthew Dowd, the former MSNBC pundit who ran for lieutenant governor of Texas in 2021. Dowd ended his campaign after critics highlighted a 2018 op-ed he wrote urging "white male Christians" to "take it upon ourselves to step back and give more people who don't look like us access to the levers of power."
Nevertheless, Talarico persisted. He isn't the only Democrat this cycle to win a contentious primary despite failing to attract a significant share of the black vote.
Since winning the nomination, Talarico has sought to present himself as a candidate who cares about what black voters want. Some might describe this as "pandering." For example, he suddenly endorsed "reparations" for slavery. "Repairing past harms is part of my faith tradition," he explained. "It's part of the values I was raised with." Yet in the final days of the primary campaign, Talarico had pointedly refused to say whether or not he supported reparations. Imagine that.
Now that he's running against a Republican, Talarico has flip-flopped on several issues in a manner some might describe as "shameless." For example, he now claims to oppose sex-change operations for minors despite describing those same procedures in 2023 as "life-saving health care."
Talarico, 37, is trying to become the first U.S. senator in history who shares his only checking account with his mom.
