Woke warrior James Talarico sounds like your classic mama’s boy. The 37-year-old Texas Senate candidate reportedly shares an individual checking account with his mother, a frequent contributor to his campaigns.
And records obtained by The Federalist show the Democratic Party’s great white hope for blueing up deep red Texas used his mother’s Austin address to register to vote in order to launch a previous campaign — an apparent violation of Texas election law.
It’s an interesting twist in the key Senate race, given that Talarico has accused his opponent, Republican state Attorney General Ken Paxton, of illegally voting in elections from the “wrong address.”
‘Urging Me to Move Back’
In October 2021, Talarico jumped on Twitter and blasted Texas Republicans for redrawing political districts that “gerrymandered” him out of his seat representing the state’s 52nd House District. Talarico has often boasted how in 2018 he beat a Trump-endorsed Republican in the district representing his home city of Round Rock. The school teacher-turned-“equitable education” consultant lived at 5657 Porano Circle in Round Rock at the time. He was the youngest lawmaker elected to the Texas Legislature.
But after winning reelection in 2020, the Republican-controlled Texas Legislature set out to redraw the state’s political boundaries, turning the 52nd into a heavily red House district. Talarico shook his fist at his political enemies and decided to run for House District 50, where Democrat incumbent Celia Israel opted not to seek reelection to focus on her campaign for Austin mayor.
“Republicans have gerrymandered me out of my district. If they think they can keep me off the House floor, they better think again,” the Democrat warned on his Twitter account. “I’m grateful to everyone urging me to move back to HD50 — where I grew up — to run for the seat being vacated by my friend Rep Israel.”
Mom’s Place
There was one detail Talarico seemed to have overlooked. He didn’t live in the Austin district. No worries. Mom to the rescue.
In early December 2021 (eight days before the candidate filing deadline), the Democrat registered to vote at his mother’s home address in Austin, according to Texas voter registration files. There’s no evidence, sources say, that Talarico lived at his mother’s home during the period. Even if he did, the candidate would have to have resided there for at least a year before launching his House campaign.
The Texas Constitution is clear: Candidates running for Texas House seats must have resided in the state for two years prior to the election, and at least one year in the districts they’re running to represent.
In 2022, after running in the party primary and listing his mother’s address on his election forms, Talarico purchased a home at 1402 Manford Hill Drive in Austin — in the 50th House District. The three-bedroom property, built in 1972, boasts an assessed value of $407,500, according to Zillow.com.
Talarico’s campaign did not return The Federalist’s request for comment.
‘Voter Fraud Witch Hunt’
But the would-be preacher who in 2021 described himself as “a Christian who hates Christianity” while pandering to “a “nonbinary, transgender, Latinx theologian on the autistic spectrum,” had plenty to say about Paxton after a hit piece accused Paxton of using “an address where he did not live while voting in six elections in the past two years, including in May’s runoff that made him the Republican nominee for U.S. senator.”
Left-leaning outlets, ProPublica and The Texas Tribune, took great pains to magnify Paxton’s messy divorce filing and report that the Republican Senate candidate no longer lives with his estranged wife. More so, the Texas Tribune story bashes Paxton for taking on voter fraud and reminding the public that “it is illegal to misrepresent your residence on election records or to establish a residence for the purpose of influencing the outcome of an election.” It relies on sources like left-wing election law advocate David Becker.
Despite his own apparent scoffing of Texas political residency requirements, Talarico recently hammered Paxton on the campaign trail, accusing him of voter fraud.
“As our state’s attorney general, Ken Paxton has gone on a voter fraud witch hunt,” Talarico said during a campaign event over the weekend in Houston, according to The Texas Tribune. “Turns out, he was committing voter fraud the whole time, voting illegally in six elections in a row from the wrong address.” Of course, the publication promoted its hit piece in reporting on Talarico’s comments.
Election and property records suggest the Democrat who once called God “nonbinary” has failed to notice the beam in his own eye. Talarico has hidden himself in part from disclosure by hiding behind a Texas privacy law that allows certain politicians and law enforcement officials to shield their voter registration records from the public.
“Talarico’s campaign said he lives and is registered at the north Austin home he purchased in 2022. ProPublica and the Tribune were not able to independently confirm this,” the outlets reported.
“It is Absolutely Disgusting’
It’s not surprising that the Democrat would use his mother’s address to begin his campaign for a hospitable House seat. He and his mother do share a $50,000 checking account, the Washington Free Beacon reported earlier this summer. Tamara Talarico has donated more than $2,000 to Democrats since 2023, Federal Election Commission records show. That includes more than $450 to Talarico’s Senate campaign.
Talarico’s adoptive father, Mark Talarico, and his mother contributed more than $1,400 to cover the Gen Yer’s moving expenses, the Free Beacon reported.
Paxton campaign spokeswoman Madison Cercy called Talarico’s hypocrisy “disgusting.”
“It is absolutely disgusting that James Talarico used his mother’s address to not only commit voter fraud, but also to defraud his entire constituency, all so he could run in a safe Democrat seat,” Cercy said in a statement to The Federalist. “He is a lying politician who has been deceiving voters throughout his time in office, so it should come as no shock that he continues his flip-flop tour across the state of Texas.”
