In a race that caught the country by surprise, State Representative and Christian preacher James Talarico defeated Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett in the March Democratic senate primary. Winning 52.4 percent of the vote, Talarico campaigned on several moderate media platforms, joining the Joe Rogan Experience, The Ezra Klein Show, and the podcast Raging Moderates.
Though Talarico appeals to moderate, religious voters, his rhetoric has drawn heavy criticism from conservatives.
A Presbyterian seminarian and former teacher, Talarico has frequently appealed to Christianity as justification for policies supporting abortion and transgenderism. In his interview with Joe Rogan, Talarico appealed to the Annunciation as evidence the Bible allows abortion, saying, “Before God comes over Mary … God asks for Mary’s consent.” He concluded, “To me that is an affirmation in one of our most central stories that creation has to be done with consent.”
Additionally, in 2021, Talarico referred to God as “nonbinary” before the Texas state legislature.
Father Bill Dailey, C.S.C. explained the role of ministers in politics, telling the Rover, “I hope that clergy will proclaim theology accurately and to the best of their ability in all times and places. I don’t think we have a general obligation to tailor our preaching to any given set of current events, but we should preach so as to connect to the real world and the lives of the faithful. That is, I don’t wake up and think, ‘How can my preaching today change our politics?’”
Professor of Political Science James Curry discussed the implications of Talarico’s strategy for Southern Democrats, telling the Rover, “This is less about a coherent Democratic Party strategy, and more about the strategy of specific candidates. … A reality for political parties in the United States is that they have comparatively little control over who runs for which office under their banner.”
“Talarico is one of a few prominent Democrats to have leaned into Christian messaging and imagery to try to gain electoral support.” Curry added, “This is a smart strategy in a state where appealing just to base Democratic voters is not going to be enough to win the general election.”
Referencing broader Democratic politics, Curry said, “The Democratic Party and its voters are very motivated to win in 2026. In election cycles where this is true, we often see a party nominate a more diverse array of candidates who can appeal to voters of a specific state or district in specific ways. Talarico winning the nomination in Texas is a good example. And his message is likely to make him more competitive than a typical Democrat would have been in any other year in Texas.”
Student reactions to Talarico’s campaign and victory were mixed. Texas resident and junior Sam Marchand told the Rover, “Talarico is the same progressivism Texas has seen before. He cites a heretical leftist idea of Christianity in an attempt to lure away Texas’ huge Catholic vote. Beto O’Rourke and Colin Allred tried that before and failed.”
Sophomore Chandler Davis approved of Talarico’s strategy, saying, “I’m encouraged by Talarico’s win over Crockett. In a state like Texas, where Christian values remain deeply rooted, a campaign grounded in ‘love your neighbor’ may be the most effective way for Democrats to connect with voters and compete in a historically red state.”
Theology and Political Science student Jack Ring commented, “While Talarico’s beliefs and policies might be no different than any other leftist, his rhetoric and imaging are clear proof that Republicans are winning the culture war. Democrats are once again appealing to visions of a classic, Protestant America; God just had to lose a few pronouns to do it.”
Kevin Andrews is a junior in Keough Hall, majoring in political science and economics. He can be reached at kandrew6@nd.edu.