Who is James Talarico?

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3:06prices, values and available markets may differ from those mentioned. For more information, you can go see calche.com slash regulatory. There is a race happening in Texas right now that tells you basically everything about how the Democratic Party will try to win elections for the next decade or so. The candidate at the center of it is a state representative from Austin named James Tallariko, or as the internet has decided to call him, James Tallariko. Tallariko, they call it, because he is a little freaky. I'm going to use that name because, you know, it's funnier, but I'm also going to use it because by the end of the episode, I think you will probably agree that it's accurate. So here's the left's pitch. The pitch is that James Tallariko is a nice, normal Christian dude. Former sixth grade teacher, seminary student studying to be a Presbyterian minister, he quotes scripture on the campaign trail. What's that reference to? So it's again a story in the New Testament. When Jesus healed the sick, he didn't ask for a deductible. He went on Chobrogan and talked about Jesus for three hours, kind of. Jesus is the embodiment of the pattern of the universe.

4:08Right, this is trippy stuff. I like trippy stuff. Yeah. He wears a jacket, he's clean cut. He looks like the youth pastor your mom wanted you to date in college. If you're a lady, the entire theory of his campaign is this. Is a state populated by Christians? Can Paxton is a mess? So if Democrats run a dude who sounds like he goes to church, Texas will finally go blue. Right now it seems to be working. The polling average has Tallariko up three or four points on Paxton. Cook Political Report calls the race to toss up. The right is dumping tens of millions bucks into the state. It's a real race. So let's start at the beginning. James Tallariko is born in Round Rock, Texas in 1989. His mom Tamara left his biological father when James was seven weeks old. The father was by all accounts in abusive alcoholic. She packed a kid and everything they owned into a Ford escort and moved into the hotel where she worked. Later, she married a guy named Mark Tallariko, who adopted James and gave him his name. His grandfather was a Baptist preacher in South Texas. So he goes to Utah, and he gets a government degree. And then Harvard, from Masters in Education Policy, he does two years of teaching for America, teaching sixth grade English on the West Side of San Antonio. He runs a nonprofit for a bit. And in 2018 and 28 years old,

5:08he flips a Republican state house seat in Williamson County. The Democrats flipped another conservative stronghold nearby. Texas House District 52. James Tallariko, a 29-year-old nonprofit director, won the seat vacated by a Republican. He's been in the Texas House ever since, four terms. Somewhere along the way, he's in the legislature, and he enrolls at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. So now he's a lawmaker and also a seminarian. Now here's the thing you need to know about the church, because the church part is the whole campaign. Tallariko has gone to the same church since he was two years old, St Andrew's Presbyterian church in Austin. He told The New York Times the pastor there, and then named Jim Rigby, along with his grandfather, was quote, the biggest influence on me as a Christian as a human being. He said, again, I'm quoting, he's my pastor in every sense of the word. Rigby baptized him. Rigby officiated his parents' wedding. In 2018, when Tallariko was deciding whether to run for office or go into ministry, Rigby is the guy he asked. We're going to come back to Jim Rigby and what Jim Rigby actually believes. And what Jim Rigby said about James Tallariko when he thought nobody was recording.

6:08In March of this year, Tallariko beat Jasmine Crockett in the Democratic primary 53-45. And now, he's up against Ken Paxton in November. So, what kind of Christian is James Tallariko? Well, he's told us. Repeatedly, in March of 2021, he went on the activist theology podcast with Roberto Csespinoza, who describes himself as a non-binary transgender Latin ex-theologian. Yeah, man. Two weeks earlier, Tallariko had tweeted that he was a big fan of Espinosa's book. On the show, Tallariko said, I always think of myself as a Christian who hates Christianity. Yeah, and that's, you know, I always think of myself as a Christian who hates Christianity. Yep, right. And like... He said he keeps coming back because nowhere else in no other political philosophy and no other economic theory, do I find anything as truly radical or revolutionary as the teachings of that barefoot rabbi? He compared Jesus to the Buddha and other mystical traditions. Buddha, Mohammed, Moses, Laoza, Tignant Han, the Dalai Lama, or maybe a prophetic voice from history. Black Alc, Martin Luther King.

7:09He called Jesus a socialist anarchist from ancient Palestine. It's very strange, every time I think about it, that that the most popular figure in our country, particularly on the conservative right, is this, you know, socialist anarchist from ancient Palestine. He also said Christianity is powerful in American politics, because so many of our political opponents share that tradition. Same year, 2021, on the floor of the Texas House, during a debate about boys playing in girl sports, Tallariko announces that God is non-binary. God is both masculine and feminine and everything in between. God is non-binary. In a committee hearing on the same subject, he said, modern science obviously recognizes there are many more than two biological sexes. In fact, there are six. Modern science obviously recognizes there are many more than two biological sexes. In fact, there are six. Hmm. October 2023, he gives a sermon at his home church. The title of the sermon is, God is not a Christian.

8:11God is not a Christian. God is not a noun at all. God is a verb. God is not abing. God is being itself. He praises Rumi, the Islamic mystic. He rejects the idea that Jesus is the only way, says there are so many pathways to the sacred. There are so many pathways to the sacred. The Islamic mystic Rumi said, every religion has love, but love has no religion. And in that same sermon, he said, quote, I want to acknowledge that our trans community needs abortion care too. In July 2025, he goes on Joe Rogan, and Rogan asks him about abortion, and Talleriko reaches for the annunciation. In context of abortion, because before God comes over Mary, and we have the incarnation, God asks for Mary's consent. Which is his biblical case for abortion. He also said, the idea there's a set Christian orthodoxy on the issue of abortion is just not rooted in scripture. Now, look, I'm not a Christian. I'm not going to adjudicate Presbyterian doctrine for you,

9:13but I have read the Bible. You know, a lot. I can tell you that Mary said yes, therefore abortion is not an argument literally anyone has made for the first 2,000 years of Christianity, because it's stupid. Wait until more on that in a moment first. Let me tell you, I'm on the road right now. You can tell I'm on the road. What does that mean? Altogether now, it means I brought my bowl and branch with me, right? That's what I do. I've brought the blanket from bowl and branch with me, because honestly, hard to sleep without it. It's just that good. As I told you before, the stuff that I put on my bed matters a lot to me, because I'm not an amazing sleeper. I'm not good at that. There are some things in life. I am plenty good at. Sleeping is not one of them. I need the best quality product on my bed. That's why I rely on bowl and branch. Their signature sheets are made from 100% organic cotton and woven specifically for airflow. That's especially nice this time of year, because you can build that cozy fall bed. Blankets come for the whole deal. Without waking up feeling like it accidentally constructed, a sauna. 94% of bowl and branch customers say their sheets get soft with every single wash. So this cozy season, when you go to bed, make sure it is the best bed possible. Upgrade your sleep with bowl and branch,

10:14get 15% off your first order plus free shipping at bowlandbranch.com slash bend with code bed as bowl and branch B-O-L-L-A-N-D branch.com slash bend code bend to unlock 15% off exclusion supply bowl and branch.com slash bend code bend. So remember Jim Rigby, the pastor, the mentor, my pastor and every sense of the word, over the last few weeks undercover reporters, including ours at the Daily Wire, went into St Andrew's Presbyterian and talk to the staff. It turns out the church that formed James Celarico is not really a church in any sense you would recognize. Rigby on camera said he's welcomed an atheist into membership and that if you hate religion, then we're on the same team. And that's when you hate religion, then we're on the same team. He's written publicly, he doesn't believe in a literal resurrection. The other minister at the church, Babs Miller, said on tape quote, we have no way of knowing if Jesus really existed. We have no way of knowing if Jesus really existed. Jesus was put on that cross not to save us. She said the congregation is mostly atheist and agnostics and that quote, we are not a worshiping church. She also said we still have people in this church who wish that the young man had not just nicked his ear but had been more successful.

11:16That's the Butler assassination attempt. She's describing her own congregants, talking about President Trump nearly being shot in the head. And what does the mentor say about Talorico himself, asked whether James is a fundamentalist, Rigby said, It makes me a... And I don't know where she said that. Is he a fundamentalist or what? Basically, he said God is not a abing, but being. I mean, that's like mysticism. So it's like at that point. He said the campaign has distance from me completely. And if the closer he gets to success, the more DNC people are going to come down. So I think his campaign, like his campaign has distance from me completely. The pastor knows the whole thing is a costume. And then Babs Miller just set it out loud. Asked about Talorico suddenly moderating on transgender issues, she said, quote, And I could guarantee you that once you get selected, you'll change these two facts of where you want. Okay, but he has to kind of play this game. Yes, that's what his campaign is convinced him up. That's not Ken Paxton, that's not the RNC. That is the minister at the church he's attended since he was two years old, telling you the moderate act expires on election night.

12:17And you can watch the act happen in real time. On September 9th, he went on Fox News. Fox asked him about the six sexist remark. From the 2021 hearing, you said there are six biological sexes. Do you still believe that standing here right now? No, I've missed the mark on some of my past statements. I will be the first to admit it. What I meant is that there are two sexes. And then there's a small percentage of people with genetic abnormalities. Obviously, didn't say it correctly. There are not six sexes. There are two. I've missed the mark on some of my past statements. There are not six sexes. There are two. Fox asked about God is binary. He said, I was being provocative. Fox asked if he'd vote for a national ban on same sex surgeries reminders. He said, absolutely, which is weird because in 2023, he voted against SB 14. That's the Texas bill that banned exactly that. His explanation is that the bill was overly broad. That same week, his campaign told CNN he's a proud capitalist to support oil and gas. Why does CNN need to be told that? Well, because CNN dug up a 2020 Sierra Club forum or Tallahurete Goh thanked young activists for drawing the link between climate change and white supremacy and capitalism,

13:19calling them oppressive systems. So thankful that you asked this question. And also thankful that young activists have really drawn the link between climate change and white supremacy and capitalism in our country. And I think only ending the ways that all three of those oppressive systems work together are we going to be able to begin the process of dismantling them. He also said the Texas oil industry is like being the leader in concept tapes in the 1980s. Now the spokesman says those comments just, you know, missed the mark. And then there is the moment that gave this episode its name. Just last month, a campaign event in Houston, a guy walked up for a photo and asked James Tallahurete, quote, who's your favorite drag queen in Texas? And Tallahurete does not hesitate. He does not blink. Who's your favorite drag queen in Texas? Oh my gosh. Probably let's add words. Let's add words. Question, what kind of Senate candidate from Texas has a favorite drag queen loaded and ready to go? And Alyssa Edwards is the stage name of a performer named Justin Johnson from the Skeet, who runs a children's dance studio, who had a Netflix series built around that studio, and who has publicly proclaimed himself a, quote, drag performer that works with children. And this is not a one-off for Tallahurete go.

14:20In 2023, he said Texas has, quote, some of the best drag queens in the nation. Has he compared all the drag queens in the nation? In 2021, he had lined a pride event in Taylor Texas, where the promotional material advertised alongside him, quote, the absolute cutest and youngest of our drag performers, an 11 year old boy. When his campaign got asked about the drag queen answer, didn't explain it. They put out a statement about Ken Paxton. So what happens if James Tallahurete go wins? You don't have to guess because he's already told you. On abortion, his own website says codify Roe versus Wade. That means a federal law overriding Texas and all the other states. His minister says that's the one position he will never soften because, quote, his mother would kill him. No joke. Preach here on Easter Sunday, and he talked about abortion being okay. And, oh, that was not in his script that he was supposed to stick to, and he didn't. He went off, and they had a fit because they didn't want him to come out that strong. His mother would kill him. Yeah, they're both. On the Supreme Court in that same Fox interview where he was busy being a moderate,

15:21he said the court is infected with corruption and needs to be overhauled. The Supreme Court needs to be overhauled. We have seen that corruption has infected the judicial branch, just as it's infected the legislative and executive branches. And so you're going to expect that I will vote for overhaul as the Supreme Court. That'll include binding codes of conduct for our justices. It'll include term limits. And I'm open to a discussion about expanding the number of justices. That's Elizabeth Warren positioning that's court packing. On the economy, the man told a room full of climate activists that capitalism is an oppressive system that requires dismantling. Go read the Green New Deal Principles from 2019, they describe the climate fight as a struggle against capitalism itself. Then go listen to Tallariko in 2020, same words, same framework, same enemies list, capitalism, white supremacy, fossil fuels. On gender, his record in the Texas House is the record. He voted against spanning transition surgeries from minors. He opposed keeping boys out of girl sports. He said six sexes and got his nine binary. So the question for Texas is not, is Tallariko a nice guy? The question is, who should get your vote? The answer from the people who know him best is that the Senate would get the 2020 Sierra Club guy.

16:24The 2021 God is non-binary guy. The 2023 Best Drag Queens in the Nation guy. If this works, every Democrat and Red Stables riot. They're going to find the guy who went to seminary, Hannah McBible, and run him on God vibes. James Tallariko's record says, Capitalism and Suppression, God is non-binary. Mary's consent is a case for abortion. The Supreme Court must be expanded. Texas has the best drag queens in the nation, and his favorite one works with kids. His own church says the faith is mysticism, and the moderation is a campaign strategy that expires the day he enters office. So Tallariko is a cheap shot. I mean, kind of, but is it wrong? The galasco's pastor, the guy is hiding in plain sight. The thing about hiding in plain sight is that it only works if nobody looks. We looked and Texans should as well. Listen up. There are enough people listening to this show right now that if they don't vote, it could swing. He states in the 2026 election to the Democrats. And everyone listening knows every single ultra-far left Democratic Socialist will be showing up to vote this fall. Democrats are fired up. We can't let them win.

17:24Because if we lose, they will undo everything our movement has fought for. I need you to vote early so you can bank your vote and fight back against the left to turn out machine. If you live in the critical Senate battleground states of Maine or Ohio, early voting is already underway starting this week. Go to GOPvotes.org right now. Find out when you can vote. Making your voice heard is easier than ever. You can get election reminders. Look up your polling location and pick a date to vote early. Go to GOPvotes.org today. Paid for by SLF PAC, not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.