The campaign of James Talarico, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Texas, is pushing back after resurfaced 2020 remarks showed the state lawmaker describing capitalism as an “oppressive system” that needed to be dismantled and predicting that Texas’ fossil fuel industry was “not gonna last.” The comments, made during a Zoom call with Sierra Club activists, are drawing fresh scrutiny as Talarico prepares to face Republican nominee and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in a race that could help determine control of the Senate.
On the call, Talarico said the United States was facing a “multi-faceted threat” of climate, economic, and social crisis. After an activist asked how to address harm suffered by communities of color due to climate change, Talarico responded, “I’m 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.” He added, “I think only understanding the ways that all three of those oppressive systems work together are we going to be able to begin the process of dismantling them.”
During the same forum, Talarico forecast that Texas’ oil and gas sector would decline. “We all know that Texas has been a leader in oil and gas, but in many ways that’s like being the leader in cassette tapes in the 1980s. That industry is not gonna last,” he said. The comments were first reported by CNN and were quickly seized on by Lone Star Liberty PAC, an outside group aligned with Paxton, and Senate Leadership Fund, a leading super PAC backing Senate Republicans.
In response, Talarico campaign spokesperson J.T. Ennis told Fox News Digital, “James is a proud capitalist and agrees with the majority of Texans that racism, natural disasters, and a billionaire-controlled economy are all problems we need to address.” Ennis added that Talarico “has already said he missed the mark on some of his past statements,” while pointing to Paxton’s refusal to address his own comments about the Uvalde school shooting and Texas’ abortion ban.
The Talarico campaign also highlighted that the state lawmaker has “taken many votes” in support of the oil industry, and his campaign website states that he aims to ensure Texas “not only maintains, but extends” its energy dominance. Republicans have repeatedly targeted Talarico for past statements on social issues, including his prior suggestion that “God is nonbinary,” that he “hates Christianity,” and that “there are many more than two biological sexes; in fact, there are six.”
Talarico, a 37-year-old former middle school teacher and Presbyterian seminarian, defeated Rep. Jasmine Crockett in the March Democratic Senate primary. Paxton, a longtime ally of President Donald Trump, captured the GOP nomination in late May after defeating longtime Republican Sen. John Cornyn in a primary runoff. Trump stayed neutral in that intra-party battle until giving Paxton an 11th-hour endorsement.
The general election face-off in deep-red Texas is one of roughly a dozen races that will likely decide whether Republicans hold the Senate majority or Democrats win back control of the chamber. Democrats have not won a Senate election in Texas in nearly four decades, but they view Paxton as vulnerable because of the scandals and legal problems that have battered him over the past decade. Paxton is also dealing with a messy divorce, with his wife citing “biblical grounds” based on “recent discoveries” in filing last year to end their marriage.
Talarico enjoys a large fundraising advantage over Paxton. The most recent Fox News poll in the Texas Senate showdown, conducted in late July, indicated Talarico holding a slight 51%-48% edge over Paxton among registered voters. The survey suggested that Paxton had yet to fully unite Republicans: while virtually all Democrats supported Talarico, at 98%, slightly fewer Republicans were unified behind Paxton, at 89%. The most recent Fox News Power Rankings, released last month, shifted the Senate race in Texas from Lean Republican to toss-up.