Democratic U.S. Senate nominee and state Rep. James Talarico (D-Austin) endorsed reparations for black Americans during a Monday, July 20, campaign stop in DeSoto, months after refusing to answer questions about the issue and amid growing scrutiny of his efforts to win over black voters.
“Reparations, repairing past harms, is part of my faith tradition. It’s part of the values I was raised with,” Talarico said after a voter asked whether he supported reparations and an “anti-black crime bill.”
At a town hall meeting in DeSoto @jamestalarico answers a question about reparations for descendants of enslaved Black Americans. pic.twitter.com/ix0EICKF01
— Gromer M. Jeffers (@gromerjeffers) July 21, 2026
Talarico pointed to tuition relief, homeownership grants and government-funded “baby bonds” as policies that he said could help black Texans build generational wealth.
“We have to correct injustices from our past,” Talarico said. “Until we as a society are committed to righting those past wrongs, of restoring our black communities, we’re never going to be able to get this country on track.”
The remarks represent Talarico’s clearest public endorsement of reparations after his campaign and legislative office repeatedly declined to answer questions from The Dallas Express about the issue during the Democratic primary.
Reparations Answer Follows Earlier Silence
The Dallas Express asked Talarico in February whether he supported reparations, H.R. 40 or other race-based government payments. Neither his campaign nor his Texas House office answered.
His primary opponent, U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas), supported H.R. 40, which would establish a federal commission to study reparations proposals.
Talarico did not identify a specific reparations bill, eligibility requirements, funding source or estimated cost during the DeSoto event. His campaign website also does not list a formal reparations proposal.
The candidate instead tied reparations to his Christian faith and broader government programs.
Talarico cited Sand Branch, a historic freedmen’s community in unincorporated Dallas County that has lacked a municipal running-water system for decades, as an example of what he called the continuing effects of slavery.
“We are seeing the reverberations of slavery in modern-day Texas all over the place,” Talarico said.
Black Voters Challenge Talarico
The DeSoto remarks came one day after Talarico faced a tense exchange with black voters at a Houston town hall on Sunday, July 19.
Video from the July 19 event showed an attendee demanding that Talarico remain and answer questions after the audience had waited through his speech.
“Our people don’t trust you for this reason,” Kandice Webber told Talarico, according to the Houston Chronicle. “And you cannot win without us. So you stay here, you answer our questions, or you suffer the consequences.”
Attendee speaks out toward end of questioning saying @jamestalarico needs to stay that group waited 45 minutes through his speech — crowd getting tense pic.twitter.com/SVMHglvoCd
— Faith Bugenhagen (@FBugenhagen_) July 19, 2026
Talarico continued the event and answered additional questions.
State Rep. Jolanda Jones (D-Houston) later disputed Talarico’s account of his outreach to her. Jones said she had tried since March to hold a substantive conversation with him about issues affecting black Texans.
“Instead, I’ve been asked to endorse him, attend his events, and even allow my photo to be used to promote one of his Houston events,” Jones wrote on X. “My answer was simple: not until we have a meaningful discussion about the issues affecting the Black community.”
Jones said Talarico’s staff had contacted her, but the two elected officials had not held the substantive conversation she requested.
“Our support must be earned,” Jones wrote.
Talarico announced a $25 million black voter outreach effort during the Houston event, including targeting Black churches, as previously reported on by The Dallas Express. His campaign described it as the largest such investment in Texas political history. Talarico lost eight out of every 10 black votes in Houston and Dallas during his primary against Crockett, according to the Houston Chronicle.
Primary Disputes Follow Campaign
Talarico’s difficulties with black voters extend back to the Democratic primary.
A political content creator alleged in February that Talarico told her he had entered the race expecting to face “a mediocre Black man,” referring to former U.S. Rep. Colin Allred.
Talarico called the allegation a “mischaracterization of a private conversation.” He acknowledged describing Allred’s campaign strategy as mediocre but denied criticizing Allred’s life, service or race.
“I would never attack him on the basis of race,” Talarico said.
Allred rejected that explanation, publicly condemned Talarico and endorsed Crockett, The Texas Tribune reported.
Crockett separately accused a group supporting Talarico of intentionally darkening her skin in campaign material. Talarico’s campaign denied involvement in the mailer.
Social Record Draws Christian Scrutiny
Talarico, a Presbyterian seminarian, frequently places his Christian faith at the center of his political message. He has also faced criticism from Christian voters and Republican officials over his positions on sexuality, abortion and children who identify as “transgender.”
In a resurfaced interview clip, a host asked Talarico to name something he loved.
“I love trans kids,” Talarico answered.
Talarico subsequently said he was expressing admiration for children who publicly advocate for their beliefs, rather than commenting on sex-alteration medical procedures.
His legislative record has nevertheless drawn renewed attention. Talarico voted against Senate Bill 14 in 2023, which prohibited Texas medical professionals from providing most hormone treatments and sex-alteration surgeries to children for the purpose of changing their biological sex.
The law specifically prohibited procedures including mastectomies on girls and the removal or alteration of otherwise healthy reproductive organs. Talarico also offered an unsuccessful amendment during the House debate. The Texas House passed the bill 87-56 before Gov. Greg Abbott signed it into law.
Talarico has since said he opposes sex-alteration surgeries for children, placing him at odds with his earlier vote against legislation that included a prohibition on those procedures.
Past DX reporting has also documented Talarico’s claims that “God is nonbinary” and that modern science recognizes six biological sexes. Christian leaders accused him of distorting Scripture to justify left-wing social policies.
Billionaire Money Boosts Senate Bid
Talarico’s expanded outreach comes as a super PAC supporting his campaign benefits from one of the largest individual political donations in the Texas Senate race.
LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman donated $10 million to Lone Star Rising in June. The contribution represented nearly 80% of the pro-Talarico super PAC’s second-quarter fundraising, according to federal campaign finance records reviewed by The Texas Tribune.
The donation has created an additional contrast for Talarico, who campaigns against billionaire influence and has pledged to reject corporate political action committee money.
Lone Star Rising operates independently from Talarico’s campaign under federal election law. The contribution did not go directly to the campaign.
Talarico Answers Policing Question
Talarico did not directly endorse the voter’s request for an “anti-black crime bill.”
He instead discussed Javier Ambler, a black man who died in 2019 after Williamson County sheriff’s deputies repeatedly used Tasers on him following a vehicle pursuit. Ambler told deputies he had congestive heart failure and could not breathe. A crew filming the reality television program Live PD accompanied the deputies.
Talarico authored House Bill 54, known as Javier Ambler’s Law. Texas lawmakers passed the measure in 2021, generally prohibiting law enforcement agencies from allowing reality television crews to accompany officers acting in the line of duty.
Talarico contrasted that law with the Texas George Floyd Act, which failed to reach the House floor during the same legislative session.
“I hope that when we win this seat, we will be able to pass federal legislation to protect all Americans from police violence, including our black communities,” Talarico said.
Talarico faces Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in November.
Provided by Dallas Express
