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James Talarico

  • Jan 5
  • 6 min read

Updated: Jan 12

Table of Contents



Disclaimer: The information below summarizes candidate-provided responses and publicly available information. “Considerations for voters” are intended to highlight relevant strengths, gaps, or strategic factors, not to advocate for or against any candidate.



James Talarico U.S. Senator


“2,000 years ago,

when the powerful few rigged the system, that barefoot rabbi walked into the seat of power and flipped over the tables of injustice. To those who love our country, to those who love our neighbors: It’s time to start flipping tables.”



Candidate Overview 

Background

  • Eighth-generation Texan

  • Former middle school teacher

  • Presbyterian seminarian


Mission:

  • To take the fight against corruption to Washington and win power back for working people.


Relevant Experience

  • Current Texas House Representative for District 50

  • Passed major legislation to fund our schools, expand job opportunities for young adults, and lower the cost of child care, housing, and prescription drugs

  • Has led the fight against the billionaire mega-donors and puppet politicians who have rigged the system against working Texas families


Notable Positions & Focus Areas

  • Get Big Money out of our politics

  • Ban partisan gerrymandering nationwide

  • Make it easier for citizens to participate in our elections

  • Ban Congressional stock trading

  • Institute term limits on Members of Congress

  • Require Members of Congress to hold annual town halls

  • Ban presidential pardons

  • Increase accountability for the Supreme Court

  • Increase oversight and improve ethics at all levels of government

  • Pass comprehensive immigration reform

  • Hold ICE accountable for abuses

  • Create pathways to legalization for certain undocumented immigrants

  • Save rural hospitals

  • Expand access to high-speed internet


Considerations for Voters

  • Talarico is the only member of the Texas Legislature who has never taken corporate PAC money

  • He was named one of the Top 10 Best Legislators by Texas Monthly Magazine

  • Authored legislation to combat corrupt politics through establishing campaign contribution caps on state-level candidates and creating an Independent Citizen Redistricting Commission to end partisan gerrymandering in Texas.

  • Broke quorum twice in the Texas House to fight back against partisan redistricting power grabs and defend the freedom to vote.

  • Made elections and voting information more accessible by requiring counties to post notice of election information on their websites.

  • Protected rural hospitals by approving the establishment of the State Office of Rural Hospital Finance and the Texas Rural Hospital Officers Academy.

  • Led the fight against private school vouchers that are defunding rural public schools to subsidize private education for the wealthy.


NOTE: This is not even close to a full list of priorities and Talarico's track record. Including all of them would have made this Candidate Profile way too long. You can read all about each of Talarico's priorities on his website here.




Positions


Democratic Values

Stance:

Democracy reform is Talarico’s top governing priority, grounded in the belief that all other policy outcomes depend on fair access to the ballot and freedom from corruption.


Key Positions & Commitments:

  • Expanding voting access and protecting voting rights nationwide

  • Banning partisan gerrymandering through independent redistricting commissions

  • Capping campaign contributions and banning dark-money super PACs

  • Ending corporate PAC influence in elections

  • Supporting ranked-choice voting and expanded polling locations


Approach to Increasing Participation:

  • Large-scale volunteer-driven field operation (phone banking, block walks, relational organizing)

  • Emphasis on in-person town halls and direct constituent engagement

  • Statewide barnstorming strategy to meet voters where they are


Democratic Norms & Threats Identified:

  • Extreme partisan gerrymandering

  • Voter suppression targeting communities of color

  • Dark money, corporate influence, and billionaire mega-donors

  • Weak enforcement of campaign finance laws

  • Lack of accountability within Congress and the Supreme Court


Notable Emphasis:

  • Clear moral framing of democracy as foundational, not secondary

  • Willingness to take high-risk actions (breaking quorum) to defend democratic norms




Healthcare

Stance:

Healthcare is treated as a cost-of-living and equity issue, with a focus on affordability, access, and systemic reform.


Key Positions & Commitments:

  • $2 generic prescription drug legislation for chronic conditions

  • Restoring ACA enhanced subsidies

  • Fully restoring Medicare and Medicaid

  • Lowering prescription drug and insurance costs


Reproductive Healthcare:

  • Explicit support for protecting bodily autonomy and abortion access


Populations Centered:

  • Working families

  • People with chronic illnesses

  • Low-income and uninsured Texans


Relevant Expertise & Preparation:

  • Legislative record of challenging Big Pharma

  • Experience passing laws to cap insulin costs


Notable Emphasis:

  • Treats healthcare reform as both economic relief and moral obligation




Equity & Representation

Stance:

Equity is approached through structural reform, representative leadership, and direct partnership with marginalized communities.


Key Positions & Commitments:

  • Ending policies that disproportionately harm Black, brown, and marginalized communities

  • Defending religious freedom and opposing Christian Nationalist legislation

  • Ending for-profit prisons


Approach:

  • Policy development grounded in collaboration with frontline advocacy organizations

  • Leadership team intentionally reflective of Texas’s diversity

  • Open-door constituent policy process


Relevant Experience & Expertise:

  • Authored and carried amendments in partnership with civil rights organizations

  • Worked closely with Equality Texas, Texas Civil Rights Project, and others


Notable Emphasis:

  • Explicit acknowledgment of systemic suppression and targeted harm

  • Strong record of translating equity into legislative action




Economy & Cost of Living

Stance:

Economic policy is centered on working-class relief and rebalancing power away from corporations and billionaires.


Key Positions & Commitments:

  • Raising the federal minimum wage to $15/hour

  • Closing tax loopholes for corporations and the ultra-wealthy

  • Restoring the Child Tax Credit

  • Expanding EITC and Low-Income Housing Tax Credit


Cost-of-Living Focus Areas:

  • Wages

  • Housing affordability

  • Childcare

  • Utility costs


Populations Centered:

  • Working families

  • Young adults

  • Low- and middle-income Texans


Approach to Economic Policy:

  • Progressive taxation paired with targeted cost relief

  • Federal investment to reduce household expenses


Notable Emphasis:

  • Clear, populist framing of economic justice




Texas Issues

Stance:

Federal policy is framed as a tool to correct harms caused by Texas-level governance failures.


Key Positions & Commitments:

  • Defending public schools from voucher programs

  • Opposing state-level voter suppression tactics


Approach to Climate Resilience:

  • Protecting Energy Star standards to reduce utility costs


Relevant Experience & Expertise:

  • Legislative experience navigating Texas’s hostile policy environment


Notable Emphasis:

  • Strong understanding of how federal action can protect Texans from state overreach




Education

Stance

Public education is viewed as the cornerstone of equity and economic mobility.


Key Positions & Commitments:

  • Universal early childhood education, including free Pre-K

  • Increased investment in childcare for children under three

  • Teacher recruitment and retention policies

  • Opposing voucher programs


Approach:

  • Education policy informed by classroom experience

  • Emphasis on long-term outcomes and student readiness


Relevant Experience & Expertise:

  • Former middle school teacher

  • Seven-year member of the House Public Education Committee


Notable Emphasis:

  • Deep policy fluency rooted in lived experience




Accountability, Ethics, & Leadership

Stance:

Public office is treated as a position of responsibility, not power, requiring transparency and moral clarity.


Key Positions & Commitments:

  • Never accepted corporate PAC money

  • Supports banning congressional stock trading

  • Strengthening ethics enforcement


Approach:

  • Open-door policy for constituents and critics

  • Emphasis on listening, accountability, and follow-through


Relevant Experience & Expertise:

  • Eight years of legislative service

  • Recognized by Texas Monthly as a Top 10 Best Legislator


Notable Emphasis:

  • Rare combination of ethical commitments and enforcement mechanisms




Immigration

Stance:

Immigration policy should prioritize humane treatment, due process, and reduced criminalization.


Key Positions & Commitments:

  • Immigration reform rooted in dignity and fairness

  • Reducing ICE’s role in civil immigration enforcement


Approach:

  • Focus on human rights and legal protections


Relevant Experience & Expertise:

  • Legislative advocacy aligned with civil rights groups


Notable Emphasis:

  • Clear rejection of punitive, fear-based immigration policy




Candidate Qualifications

Stance:

Talarico presents himself as a tested legislator with a proven ability to deliver results in hostile debated environments.


Key Positions & Commitments:

  • Representing working people over corporate interests

  • Continuing a grassroots-powered campaign model


Approach:

  • Combines legislative skill, communications strategy, and coalition-building

  • Willing to take politically risky stands for principled reasons


Relevant Experience & Expertise:

  • Current Texas House Representative

  • Proven legislative wins across education, healthcare, and cost-of-living issues


Notable Emphasis:

  • Strong case for readiness, effectiveness, and durability under pressure




Scorecard Summary


Our Score: 34/34

Strong alignment with TMK-Indivisible Waco's endorsement criteria.


Key Positions & Commitments:

  • Aggressively defends voting rights, campaign finance reform, and anti-gerrymandering

  • Champions public education, healthcare affordability, and reproductive freedom

  • Advocates for higher wages, tax fairness, and economic relief for working families

  • Opposes vouchers, corporate PAC influence, and billionaire-driven policymaking


Approach:

  • Confrontational toward entrenched power when necessary; collaborative with community advocates

  • Centers lived experience and community input before legislating

  • Uses both legislative strategy and public messaging to block harmful policy

  • Prioritizes structural reform over symbolic gestures


Relevant Experience & Expertise:

  • Former public school teacher with direct classroom experience

  • Multi-term Texas House legislator with a record of passed legislation

  • Leader in high-stakes fights against voter suppression and school privatization

  • Recognized statewide for legislative effectiveness (Texas Monthly Top 10)


Notable Emphasis:

  • Democracy reform as the foundation for all other policy wins

  • Refusal of corporate PAC money as a governing principle, not a talking point

  • Moral framing rooted in faith without imposing religion on public policy

  • Clear alignment with grassroots organizing and down-ballot coalition-building






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