Talarico Centers Texas Senate Bid on Faith as 27% Evangelical Bloc Brands It Blasphemy
Updated
Updated · The Washington Post · Aug 16
Talarico Centers Texas Senate Bid on Faith as 27% Evangelical Bloc Brands It Blasphemy
2 articles · Updated · The Washington Post · Aug 16
Summary
James Talarico, 37, has made Christian faith a centerpiece of his Texas Senate campaign, arguing Democrats should reclaim religion from the religious right with a message centered on loving God and neighbor.
That strategy has turned his past remarks into a campaign flashpoint, with Republican rival Ken Paxton and other evangelicals citing Talarico’s comments on abortion, gender and Christianity itself as blasphemous.
Public polling has shown Talarico and Paxton running neck and neck in a race Democrats see as pivotal to retaking the Senate, even though Texas has not elected a Democratic senator in nearly 40 years.
Religion could be decisive because about 67% of Texas adults identify as Christian, including roughly 27% evangelicals and 10% mainline Protestants—the tradition Talarico comes from.
The clash also highlights a broader split between Talarico’s pluralistic, progressive Christianity and the evangelical base that remains one of the Republican coalition’s most reliable voting blocs.