LEILA FADEL, BYLINE: Can Texas shift blue? Democrat James Talarico believes he can flip the Senate seat in the typically deep red state in November. The Texas state representative is running against the Trump-endorsed state attorney general, Ken Paxton, who ousted incumbent Senator John Cornyn in the Republican primary this week. Paxton is, to put it mildly, controversial. He was impeached by the Texas House, accused of bribery and abuse of office. He faced down felony fraud charges and is accused of extramarital affairs. Paxton says he's the victim of political smear campaigns. Talarico and his party believe those scandals give the Democrat an edge.
JAMES TALARICO: The most corrupt politician in America just became the Republican nominee for the United States Senate. That kind of corruption is the rot at the core of this whole broken system. It's why we can't afford anything. It's why we can't get ahead no matter how hard we work, because for 50 years, billionaire megadonors and their puppet politicians, like Ken Paxton, have been rigging the rules of this economy against us.
FADEL: You know, Ken Paxton won and then wasted no time coming up with taunting, in many cases anti-LGBTQ nicknames for you - Six-gender Jimmy, James Talafreako, Tofu Talarico - as his way of denouncing your positions on gender-affirming care, immigration, energy, religion. What do you make of these insults?
TALARICO: Well, we just announced last night that we have I'm A Talafreako T-shirts available on our website for purchase - jamestalarico.com - for all the Talafreakos out there. You know, we're running against...
FADEL: So there's merch from these.
TALARICO: Yeah. That's right. That's exactly right. I think we're all tired of these old dudes who are pretending like this is professional wrestling, you know, all slathered up and throwing these silly nicknames at each other. Like, these nicknames don't lower the price of groceries. They don't lower the price of gas. They don't lower the cost of housing and childcare and prescription drugs.
FADEL: Well, that's true, but they were an effective mechanism for President Trump. He would name his political opponents a nickname. It would stick. It did seem to be an effective way of going after his political opponents. You feel that's different now? I mean, because it's beyond Paxton, right? We saw Stephen Miller post this anti-trans post about you.
TALARICO: Yeah. I actually disagree. So many people who voted for Donald Trump in 2024 here in Texas - they didn't vote for him because of the nicknames. They actually hated that kind of stuff. They hated the way he talked to people, but they thought that he could lower costs. They thought he could get the economy back on track as a businessman. They thought that he was going to drain the swamp. They thought he was going to end the forever wars. They thought he was going to release the Epstein files.
You know, a little over a year into this administration, the president has failed on all four counts.
FADEL: You've said that you're willing to break with your Democratic colleagues on issues that matter to Texans. What are those issues?
TALARICO: Well, you know, I got some heat in my own party for calling out President Biden for failing to secure our southern border. I'm a border security Democrat. My family is from south Texas. And I know that those federal policies during the Biden administration created chaos in our border communities. And so I am putting forward an - a comprehensive vision for how we transform this broken immigration system - securing the border, adding more Border Patrol, modernizing our ports of entry so we can stop the flow of fentanyl into our communities, and also welcoming hardworking immigrants who want to make this country richer and stronger, as immigrants always have.
FADEL: What do you think about ICE? 'Cause some of the more progressive candidates in your party want to see it abolished.
TALARICO: Well, I want to put an end to this secret police force, and I want to rebuild an agency that's actually focused on immigration and customs enforcement. And that's not what's happening here. I do want immigration and customs enforcement. I believe in public safety. I think public safety is the most important thing that the government does. But this secret police force of masked men in unmarked vehicles terrorizing our hardworking neighbors is not keeping any of us safe. And I think people are ready for someone who's going to tackle this broken immigration system with the seriousness that it deserves.
FADEL: That's Texas state Democratic Representative James Talarico, the Democratic nominee for Senate in Texas. Thank you so much for your time.
TALARICO: Thanks for having me.
FADEL: We've asked Talarico's opponent, Ken Paxton, for an interview and comment. We have not heard back. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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