James Talarico

Early life and education

James Talarico was born James Dell Collins in Round Rock, Texas on May 17, 1989, to Tamara (née Causey) and Steve Collins. Tamara left Steve, an abusive alcoholic, when James was seven weeks old. A few months later she married Mark Talarico, who adopted James and gave him his surname. Talarico attended Round Rock ISD schools and graduated from McNeil High School in Williamson County, Texas, where he competed in speech and debate. He also acted in the school's drama productions, including playing Danny Zuko in Grease. Talarico's maternal grandfather, Jimmy Causey, was a Baptist preacher at several churches in South Texas.

Before earning his Bachelor of Arts degree in government from the University of Texas at Austin, he organized students for tuition relief. Talarico later earned a Master of Education degree in education policy from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and went on to receive a Master of Arts in theological studies at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary but has not yet completed his Master of Divinity there.

Career

In 2011, Talarico joined Teach For America, teaching sixth-grade English language arts at Rhodes Middle School on the west side of San Antonio. After two years of teaching, he became Central Texas executive director for Reasoning Mind, a Texas nonprofit focusing on bringing technology to low-income classrooms.

Texas House of Representatives

Talarico was first elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 2018 at age 29, becoming the legislature's youngest member during the 2019 session. During his four terms in a Republican-majority legislature, he served as lead sponsor of multiple bills, 16 of which became law, including eight focused on education, childcare, or youth workforce development.

First term (2018–2019)

Talarico launched his campaign for the Texas House shortly after incumbent state legislator Larry Gonzales chose not to run for reelection. He won the concurrent special and general elections against Republican nominee Cynthia Flores, garnering media attention for walking the full length of the district. He was sworn into the Texas House of Representatives on November 20, 2018, and appointed to the Public Education and Juvenile Justice Committees.

In the 86th Texas Legislature, Talarico filed the Whole Student Agenda, a legislative package with bills addressing public education policy. Two bills from this list were passed by the legislature: HB 3012, which requires that students suspended from school have an alternative means to receive coursework. HB 455, also sponsored by Talarico, was written to provide a standardized school recess policy. Governor Greg Abbott vetoed the bill.

Second term (2020–2021)

Talarico defeated former Hutto city councilmember Lucio Valdez with 51.5% of the vote. For the 87th Legislative Session, he was reappointed to the Public Education and Juvenile Justice Committees and appointed to the Calendars Committee. During the 87th legislative session, Talarico filed HB 54, also known as Javier Ambler's Law, and the legislature passed it. It prohibits state law enforcement agencies, except game wardens, from entering into contracts with reality TV shows that film them in the line of duty. This was in response to the role Live PD is alleged to have played in the killing of Javier Ambler by Williamson County, Texas police. Talarico had previously criticized Sheriff Robert Chody's handling of the incident, calling for his resignation.

Talarico was the primary author of HB 30, which provides a path for minors in the criminal justice system who have been adjudicated as adults or who are eligible under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to earn a high school diploma instead of pursuing a high school equivalency. He was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes during a five-day stint in the ICU after a 2018 campaign event where he walked 25 miles (40 km) across his district. After his diagnosis, he paid $684 for his first 30-day supply of insulin. Talarico later helped pass House Bill 82, capping insulin costs at $25 per month.

In the summer of 2021, Democrats in the Texas House of Representatives, including Talarico, organized a quorum-break in an attempt to stop the passage of legislation they saw as restricting voting rights. They flew to Washington, D.C., to lobby the Senate to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and the For the People Act, which would have superseded parts of the state legislation. Talarico was one of the first Democrats to return to Texas as the quorum break progressed, arguing that the effort had achieved its goals, that Democrats needed to reduce the harm of Republican legislation, and that an indefinite quorum break was unsustainable. Some representatives who remained in D.C. strongly criticized him for this. Quorum was eventually reestablished and the legislation passed. At the end of the legislative session, Texas Monthly magazine named Talarico one of the Top 10 Best Legislators.

Third term (2022–2023)

After his district was made significantly more Republican during the 2020 redistricting process, Talarico announced that he would run in neighboring House District 50, a safe Democratic seat being vacated by Celia Israel. His previous district was a swing district. Talarico won the primary election with 78.5% of the vote and the general election with 76.8%. During the 88th legislative session, he was the primary author of House Bill 25, which would create the Texas Wholesale Prescription Drug Importation Program and allow Texas to import lower-cost Canadian medications approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Talarico was an outspoken critic of legislation that would have required the display of the Ten Commandments in all elementary and secondary classrooms, on the constitutional grounds of separation of church and state. He called the measure "un-American" and "un-Christian". The bill was not signed into law.

Fourth term (2024–2025)

Talarico defeated Nathan Boynton in the Democratic primary and was unopposed in the general election. In 2025, he continued to be a major voice in opposition to placing the Ten Commandments in Texas public schools. The specific legislation, SB 10, required every classroom to visibly display a poster containing the Ten Commandments, sized at least 16 by 20 inches. When the bill was first brought to the floor of the Texas House, Talarico called a point of order that delayed its passage. The bill ultimately passed the legislature, but videos of his remarks against it went viral and led to an appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience.

During the legislative debate over private school vouchers, Talarico, who opposed the legislation, attempted to amend the bill to have a statewide referendum determine whether the program would go into effect. The legislation passed and was signed into law without the amendment. In August 2025, Talarico was one of 51 Democratic Texas House members who broke quorum to delay the passage of mid-decade new congressional maps. While he was absent from the state, Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit to expel Talarico and 12 other representatives from the House by declaring their seats vacant. Talarico and the others named in the suit returned to the state before the Texas Supreme Court ruled in the case. In May 2026, the court determined that it did not have jurisdiction to resolve a legislative dispute and dismissed the case.

Committee assignments

For the 89th legislative session:

Committee on Trade, Workforce & Economic Development (Vice Chair)

Committee on Public Education

Subcommittee on Academic & Career-Oriented Education (Vice Chair)

Committee on House Administration

2026 U.S. Senate campaign

On September 9, 2025, Talarico announced his candidacy for the 2026 U.S. Senate election in Texas. He and U.S. Representative Jasmine Crockett vied for the Democratic nomination. In December 2025, Talarico appeared in an episode of Jubilee's Surrounded titled "1 Texas Democrat vs. 20 Undecided Texas Voters". In February 2026, the Houston Chronicle, the Austin American-Statesman, The Dallas Morning News, and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram endorsed Talarico. Later in February, the FCC opened an investigation into Talarico's appearance on The View, citing a potential violation of the equal-time rule. Late-night and talk shows had been exempt from the requirement until an FCC rule change in January 2026.

On February 16, 2026, Talarico was scheduled to appear on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Colbert said that CBS canceled the interview because of the Trump administration's "intensifying pressure against broadcast TV networks". He said the network's lawyers had instructed him not to have Talarico on the show or mention the cancellation. Against their advice, he interviewed Talarico and spoke publicly about the cancellation. Colbert accused CBS of censorship and posted the interview to the show's YouTube page instead, where it had gained 7.3 million views by February 18, making it the most viewed interview segment on The Late Show's channel in a year.

On March 3, Talarico won the Democratic primary, securing the party's nomination in the November general election. In the general election, he faces Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who won the Republican primary runoff on May 26.

On the campaign trail, Talarico frequently shares a story from when he was a 6th grade teacher at Rhodes Middle School. He was assigned a new student named Justin, who had been kicked out of fifth grade for bringing a knife to school and threatening his teacher. Talarico shook Justin's hand and welcomed him to the classroom. Justin's grades and socialization were improving, but after Christmas break, Justin got into a fight and was kicked out of school again. Talarico attributes this to the Texas legislature's decision to cut public school funding, which led to the termination of the therapist at Rhodes Middle School who was helping Justin cope with his challenging life, and Talarico resolved that if he ever became a legislator, he would fight for funding for public schools so that there would be resources available to help children like Justin.

Political positions

Religion

Talarico is considered a progressive Christian, but he objects to the phrase "progressive Christianity", saying, "I don't believe in a progressive or conservative Christianity; I believe in a biblical Christianity." Talarico has cited his faith and the teachings of Jesus as the reason for launching his political career. He said he was following the commandments to love God and one's neighbor. He said politics is "another word for how we treat our neighbors".

Talarico is a critic of Christian nationalism and has called it "a cancer on our religion". He said, "there's nothing Christian about Christian nationalism". In a 2023 guest sermon, Talarico called Christian nationalism "the worship of power—social power, economic power, political power, in the name of Christ". He has said Christian nationalists have turned Jesus "into a gun-toting, gay-bashing, science-denying, money-loving, fear-mongering fascist". He said it is "incumbent on all Christians to confront it and denounce it".

In July 2025, Talarico appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience. In that interview, Talarico discussed the influence of faith on his political career. Rogan said, "Talarico, you need to run for president."

Institutional reform

Talarico has advocated for reforms of U.S. political institutions. His proposed reforms include term limits for members of U.S. Congress, banning congressional stock trading, and banning gerrymandering. He supports eliminating the filibuster under the current rules in the U.S. Senate, but supports the talking filibuster. He has advocated for reform of the U.S. Supreme Court including through term limits. He supports an enforceable code of ethics for the court's justices, "for recusals, financial disclosures, and limitations on accepting gifts." He said, "We must enact term limits for Supreme Court justices." He said he is "open" to increasing the number of justices.

Healthcare

Talarico supports healthcare reform and universal healthcare as a human right. He supports making buy-in Medicare or a public health insurance option available to every American, calling his healthcare plan "Medicare for Y'all".

Energy

In 2026, Talarico released an energy plan. The El Paso Times said Talarico had an "all-of-the-above" policy. The Times said he proposed investments "in oil and gas, nuclear, wind, solar, and geothermal energy to insulate against global energy shocks."

Talarico has proposed regulating AI data centers. His proposal says it would "lower utility costs" by requiring large data centers to "fund the infrastructure improvements they need rather than passing those costs on to consumers". Talarico said, "We have to strike a balance between welcoming growth, welcoming investment, and protecting people and communities." He said his plan would "empower local communities to decide whether they want a data center in their town." He said it would ensure "the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) grid can keep up with increasing demand."

Immigration

Talarico said U.S. immigration policy should "treat our southern border like our front porch — it should have a welcome mat and a lock on the door. ... ICE should go after gang members and human traffickers, not moms and babies". He said: "We have seen this historic increase in funding for ICE. That money has come out of health care. So what I would say is that we should take that money and put it back in our communities, where it belongs."

Talarico said, "I'm a border security Democrat." He criticized former President Biden's border policy, saying it "created chaos in our border communities."

Cannabis

Talarico has advocated the legalization, regulation, and taxation of cannabis and THC products. In March 2021, he introduced House Bill 4089 to legalize adult cannabis use and provide for the expungement of past convictions. During the 2025 legislative session, he opposed Senate Bill 3, which sought to ban most hemp-derived THC products. Talarico argued that the ban would undermine the state industry and shift consumers toward unregulated markets.

Social issues

Talarico has appealed to both Christian theologies as well as the separation of church and state in support of the LGBTQ community. He has said: "Trans people aren't taking away our health care. Undocumented people aren't defunding our schools. Muslims aren't cutting taxes for themselves and their rich friends. It's the billionaires and their puppet politicians".

After the 2019 El Paso Walmart shooting, Talarico said, "we've got to do something about the gun violence epidemic in our state and our country. I support the Second Amendment. I believe people have a right to bear arms, but we can take commonsense steps to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people and to make sure that we keep everybody safe in our communities."

Foreign policy

Talarico supports a two-state solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. He has condemned what he called Israel's "atrocities in Palestine" and "war crimes", and has criticized its role in the Gaza Strip famine. He opposes offensive U.S. aid to Israel. He supports banning the sale of offensive weapons to Israel. Talarico is a critic of the pro-Israel lobby group AIPAC. In 2025, he criticized Democrats for supporting the Gaza war during the 2024 presidential election. He called the war "the moral test of our time".

Talarico has criticized the 2026 Iran war. After the initial strikes on February 28, he wrote, "No more forever wars" on X. In an interview on MS NOW, Talarico said the U.S. could prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons without "bombing innocent schoolchildren", referring to the 2026 Minab school attack. He proposed a plan to suspend federal gas and diesel taxes during the war, or until prices come down to $3.06 and $3.66 respectively. He also called for "immediate negotiations" to end the war.

Personal life

Talarico is a member of the Presbyterian Church (USA). He is active in St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Austin. As of May 2026, Talarico has been in a four‑year relationship with a woman who previously served as his chief of staff in his Texas House office; she left the position after they developed feelings for each other.