As both parties look for a new generation of leaders, Texas Democratic State Representative James Talarico made news this week.
He is throwing his hat in the ring in the Democratic primary for a Senate seat next year currently held by Republican Senator John Cornyn.
Talarico, 36, is a former public-school teacher and a Presbyterian seminary student.
In recent months, he has been gaining attention by doing interviews with podcasters like Joe Rogan and talking about what he thinks Democrats need to do to regain power.
“Everybody’s saying that the Democratic Party is in the wilderness, and I agree,” Talarico said in an interview Here & Now’s Sarah McCammon. “All I would say is that the wilderness can be a valuable place where new ideas and new leaders and new movements come forth. And so I would encourage my party to embrace this time in the wilderness, use it to experiment, to innovate, to change, and to transform this political party so that it can start fighting for regular people once again.”
5 questions with James Talarico
First, you held a rally on Wednesday, the day that Kirk was shot and killed, but you quickly changed the focus based on that news, and you said, ‘Charlie Kirk was a child of God.’ What do you want to say about his assassination?
“I was headed to San Antonio, Texas, for a rally in support of our campaign for the U.S. Senate when I got the news about the assassination of Charlie Kirk, and to be very honest with you, I thought about canceling the event altogether, but after some prayer and reflection, I remembered that the goal of political violence is to separate us from each other; it’s to make us afraid of one another. And so, I decided to keep the event, but change its focus and turn it into a community discussion on political violence.
“And honestly, the evening was helpful for me because it renewed my shaken faith in this American experiment of ours. I know that all of us, given the horrific news of this week, are doubting the future of this American democracy. But that night in San Antonio, seeing all these different people from different backgrounds, different beliefs coming together to reject this kind of violence and talk about a new kind of politics rooted in love for our neighbors really inspired me and gave me some much- needed help.”
It’s not unusual for Republicans to talk about their faith, about prayer, and to argue for policy positions through the lens of their religious beliefs in many cases. You’re very open about your own Christian faith. What do you think is the appropriate place for religion and politics in a nation that by design values religious freedom?
“Well, it’s important that people of faith speak up in defense of the separation of church and state. I come from a Protestant tradition. My granddad was a Baptist preacher in South Texas, and historically, Baptists in this country have been the fiercest, staunchest defenders of that sacred boundary between church and state, not for the benefit of the state, but for the benefit of the church, because when, when the government starts to usurp the role of the church, when politicians usurp the role of pastors and Sunday school teachers, it does great harm to our religious communities.
“And so I, as a Texas legislator and also a seminarian, have tried my best to speak out in defense of our First Amendment, the Establishment Clause, and the Free Exercise Clause, and remind people that religious liberty, religious freedom, and the separation of church and state are foundational principles of this country, and they are something that Christians and all believers from all religious traditions should cherish.”
A Democrat has not won a Senate seat in Texas since 1988, which I believe is the year before you were born. What do you think Democrats need to do differently to appeal not just to voters but to Texas voters?
“Well, I think Democrats nationally and in Texas have got to do a better job of growing the tent. Politics, in my opinion, is about addition, not subtraction. We have to build a big coalition of people from all backgrounds, all beliefs to take power back from the people at the very top, the billionaires and the mega donors who increasingly control our politics, control our economy, control our media and social media, and I think we’re sick of how they are dividing us for their own gain.
“They continually divide us by race, by gender, by party, by religion to keep us from seeing all that we have in common and to keep us from realizing that there is far more that unites us than divides us. And so, what I’m interested in this campaign is bringing people together across those many divides to see that we have a lot more in common with each other than we realize. We all want a safe neighborhood, a good job, a quality, well-funded public school in our neighborhood, and we want the ability to see a doctor when we need one. And that’s true of Democrats and Republicans, black, white, brown, urban, rural, suburban Christians, non-Christians, non-religious people. All of us want those things for ourselves, our families and our neighbors, and to me, that’s a lot of common ground to work off of.”
A Wall Street Journal survey over the summer found that Democrats’ approval rating is at its lowest level in 35 years, faring worse than President Trump or Republicans, according to that poll. How much do you think that members of your party are responsible for those divisions in the country, and what would you do differently?
“It’s certainly a problem in both political parties, and corruption, the influence of those billionaires I was just talking about is too common in both political parties. And so, I think it’s important when Democrats like me share hard truths about our own party. I already have a religion and I already have a sports team.
“The reason that I’m a Democrat is because I believe our party can be a vehicle for winning elections, gaining political power and making people’s lives better. And if the party is not doing that, then things need to change, and clearly it’s not doing that, given the results of the last election. So I am very interested in shaking up the status quo in the Democratic Party, challenging the establishment in our own party, so that we can change the Democratic Party, start winning elections, and start improving people’s lives.”
Can you be more specific? What are the mains ways that the party needs to change?
“Well, we could spend the whole hour on this, but I think at, at the most high level, we need a Democratic Party that knows how to fight for people.
“There’s a big difference between national Democrats and Texas Democrats, because in Texas, we don’t have the excuse of not being in the majority. National Democrats oftentimes will use that excuse to justify their inaction.
“And here in Texas, we know how to use every tool in the toolbox, even when we’re in the minority to fight for the people of this state. That was true over the summer when we broke quorum to protest the redistricting power grab in the state legislature, the gerrymandering in our maps where politicians choose their own voters instead of voters choosing their politicians. That’s just one example of how red state Democrats know how to fight more effectively than national Democrats who are comfortable on the coasts and comfortable with the status quo.”
This interview was lightly edited for clarity.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
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