From 'The Conversation': James Talarico on immigration, his faith, and how Democrats are getting it wrong

The Playbook Podcast

POLITICO

News, Daily News, Politics, Government

3.9 • 699 Ratings

🗓️ 28 September 2025

⏱️ 39 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

James Talarico is a Texas state representative who’s recently announced his candidacy for US Senate. He’s a Democrat, but not afraid to criticize some aspects of his party. “National Democrats have talked about defending democracy or protecting institutions,” he said. “But, this democracy of ours doesn't work for a lot of people in this country. It doesn't work for a lot of people in Texas…. This is a deeply broken political system. And I'm not interested in defending it.” Talarico joined POLITICO’s Dasha Burns this week for an episode of The Conversation, in a wide-ranging conversation about his candidacy, his faith and what Democrats can learn from Beyoncé. Talarico caught national attention when he flipped a state House district outside Austin in 2018, and has grown in prominence on social media, where he boasts millions of followers on TikTok and Instagram. The former school teacher who’s studying to be a pastor is joining a crowded race to try to turn a Senate seat blue in Texas. His faith has been one of the central aspects of his campaign. “My faith is why I went into public service. My granddad was a Baptist preacher in South Texas [and he] told me that Jesus gave us these two commandments to love God and love neighbor, which means that your faith is inherently public, right?,” he said. “That means that your faith should impact how you treat people out in the world. And really politics is just another word for how we treat our neighbors at the most fundamental level.” When it comes to immigration, a Texas issue in the national spotlight, Talarico offered a metaphor to explain his approach. “People have a desire for a sane immigration system, a secure border that can ensure public safety and can ensure that the people coming here are coming to contribute to our communities and not threaten our communities,” he said. “We should treat our southern border like our front porch. We should have a giant welcome mat out front, and we should have the lock on the door.”

Transcript

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0:00.0	Today's episode is sponsored by pharma.
0:02.9	How do big tax-exempt hospitals profit off 340B by charging big medicine markups?
0:10.2	340B hospitals can charge thousands of dollars for medicines they might have bought for a penny.
0:15.6	They pocket the profit and you pay the price.
0:18.7	It's time for Congress to fix 340B. Visit phrmma.org slash 340B markup to learn more.
0:27.7	This is a deeply broken political system and I'm not interested in defending it.
0:35.8	Hello, hello, and welcome to the conversation. I'm Dasha Burns, White House Bureau Chief for Politico, and every week on this show, I invite one of the most compelling and sometimes unexpected power players in Washington and beyond in for a chat to find out how they're navigating and shaping this incredible era of American politics.
0:57.4	And guys, this week, the president has made a lot of news with the number of speeches.
1:01.7	One of those speeches was at the United Nations, essentially chastising UN member nations for everything from how they handle immigration to windmills to literally the building
1:12.4	that headquarters the United Nations. Separately from that speech on True Social this week,
1:17.7	he also seemingly reversed his position on the war between Russia and Ukraine, now saying
1:24.1	that he believes Ukraine can win most or all of its territory back from Russia with
1:29.9	the support of the EU before he had been saying very adamantly that in order to secure peace,
1:35.8	Ukraine would have to give up a bunch of territory. And earlier in the week, the president made
1:40.1	waves in the medical field when he and HHS secretary, RFK Jr., warned pregnant women
1:46.5	against taking Tylenol. Yes, Tylenol. They said it is linked to autism. Now, that claim
1:53.5	has the medical establishment pretty up in arms, a lot of criticism and concern there. And in the
1:58.9	middle of all of it, I sat down with Texas
2:01.1	State Representative James Talariko. If you haven't heard of him, that means you probably haven't
2:05.2	spent too much time online because this guy has a huge social media following. He is a religious
2:11.1	Democrat in Texas who is running for Senate. And he was one of the Texas Democrats that fled the state to break quorum to try to block
2:21.3	the Republican redistricting effort in that state.
	...

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