TALARICO TAPES: James Talarico Portrays Himself as Moderate to Win Over Texas Voters

TALARICO TAPES: Williamson County Democratic Chair and James Talarico’s Girlfriend’s Family Reveal to O’Keefe That Talarico Is Portraying Himself as a Moderate to Win Over Texas Voters, but Privately Holds Very Progressive Positions on Border Security, Immigration, Abortion, and Transgender Surgeries for Minors

“James [Talarico], he’s not going middle.”

“He’s [Talarico] definitely going to play the middle ground because he’s in Texas. but he is a lot more progressive on it [abortion].”

“Don’t put too much stock into border security comments…“He [Talarico] and I have spoken about these issues.”

“He [Talarico] probably said that to try to make himself appear more centrist. He’s very liberal…but we’ve got to get elected, so we can do something.”

Texas U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico’s girlfriend, Brianna Menard, was identified by her father, Matt Menard, during an undercover conversation in which he and Williamson County Democratic Chair Kim Collins Gilby separately cast doubt on Talarico’s recent moderate messaging on border security, immigration, and transgender surgeries for minors.

Menard, who claims to communicate with Talarico weekly and has personally discussed immigration policies with Talarico. Insisting James Talarico remains a progressive, opposes ICE’s immigration enforcement tactics, and supports a pathway to citizenship for everyone. Menard also warns against putting too much stock in Talarico’s public border security remarks.

Meanwhile, Collins Gilby suggests Talarico’s CNN town hall comments on transgender surgeries for minors were an attempt to appear more centrist to Texas voters, arguing that Democrats must first win elections to advance their priorities.

Inside Travis County Democratic Headquarters, regional organizer Andhi Beltran Garcia mentions that James Talarico is portraying himself as a moderate on issues like abortion to appeal to Texas voters while privately holding more progressive positions.

The undercover footage raises questions about whether Talarico’s moderate public messaging represents a genuine shift in his political positions or an effort to appeal to independent voters ahead of the U.S. Senate election.

We have reached out to James Talarico’s campaign, family & Texas Williamson County Democratic party for comment.