Austin’s James Talarico is running for U.S. Senate. Here’s what to know about him.

From KUT News:

James Talarico, a member of the Texas House representing Austin and Pflugerville, announced his run for the U.S. Senate on Tuesday.

Here are a few things to know about him.

He’s a devout Christian. But not like other Texas politicians.

Talarico has said he wants to be the pastor of a church one day. He graduated from the Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary last year with a master’s in theology, according to The Texas Tribune.

But Talarico’s views are starkly different from the conservative Christian ideals people have come to expect from Texas politicians.

Talarico opposed Senate Bill 10, which requires the Ten Commandments to be displayed in every public school classroom in Texas.

“A religion that has to force people to put up a poster to prove its legitimacy is a dead religion, and it’s not one I want to be a part of. It’s not one that I think I am a part of,” he said during a legislative hearing for the bill. “My concern is instead of bringing a bill that will feed the hungry, clothe the naked, heal the sick, we are instead mandating that people put up a poster.”

You’ve probably seen him on social media

Talarico has picked up support nationwide through Instagram and TikTok. Clips of him condemning Republican policies have gone viral on both platforms, where he’s amassed 1.2 million followers.

Talarico has used populist messaging to unite both sides of the political spectrum against the ultrawealthy. A clip of him slamming billionaires has nearly 8 million views on TikTok.

“The only minority destroying America is the billionaires,” he said in the video. “Trans people are 1% of the population. Muslims are 1% of the population. Undocumented people are 1% of the population. We are focused on the wrong 1%.”

Talarico’s most popular online clips have him pointing out hypocrisy in conservative Christian ideas. He did so on an episode of The Joe Rogan Experience in July.

“I was told that to be a Christian you had to hate gay people. If you want to be a Christian you had to control women. If you wanted to be a Christian you had to reject science,” he said. “In fact, a lot of those positions that I just mentioned are contrary to biblical values, to the teachings of Jesus.”

He’s a UT grad and former middle school teacher

After graduating from UT Austin and Harvard, Talarico taught English on the west side of San Antonio in one of the city’s poorest ZIP codes.

In 2018, Talarico was the youngest person in the Texas Legislature at age 29.

Talarico has passed legislation to make insulin cheaper, provide tax relief to child care centers and to make sure every public school in Texas has Narcan, an overdose reversal drug. But none of the bills Talarico introduced in this year’s legislative session passed.

Talarico faces former congressman and former U.S. Senate nominee Colin Allred, along with retired NASA astronaut Terry Virts, in the 2026 Democratic primary election.

The winner will face the winner of the Republican primary, in which Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is challenging incumbent Sen. John Cornyn.

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