Talarico makes stunning claim about why he thinks Texas elections aren’t ‘free and fair’
Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico said he believes state laws are stacked against him as he moves to become the first Democrat to hold statewide office since 1994.
“It means you’re probably going to have to win a little bit more than we would in a completely free and fair election,” Talarico said in a recent podcast interview.
Talarico’s stance against Texas voting the laws reflect the broader Democratic belief that Republican dominance in the Lone Star State is due to low turnout brought on by election security measures rather than the state’s conservative leanings; It’s a theory that continues to drive long-running attempts to turn the state around.
Despite having raised an impressive $40 million as of March, Talarico Tough campaign against Republican candidate The current Texas attorney general, Ken Paxton, has widespread name recognition.
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James Talarico, a Texas Democrat and U.S. Senate candidate, speaks at a campaign event on Tuesday, March 3, 2026 in Round Rock, Texas, United States.
(Getty Images)
“We’re going to have to get through this. If we’re going to win, we’re going to have to get through organizing, working, getting through voter suppression,” Talarico said.
After this Covid-19 pandemic, Texas has passed a series of election security bills.
The most important legislative body passed SB1, A bill that would require voters to provide certain identification numbers to vote and to register to vote: a Texas driver’s license, election identification card, or the last four digits of a number Social Security number.
It also banned curbside voting and the spamming of ballot applications.
Talarico said he objected acceptance as a state legislator.
“I will say that there is already a lot of voter suppression in Texas. It’s built into our legislation. I strongly opposed many of these bills as they went through the legislature,” Talarico said.
“The bottom line is that Texas is one of the most difficult places to vote in the country. That’s why we see such low voter turnout in our state compared to other states,” Talarico said. he said.
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Democratic Texas State Representative James Talarico speaks during a campaign launch rally on September 9, 2025 in Round Rock, Texas.
While it’s true that Texas ranks in the bottom five states in terms of voter turnout, the 56.6 percent of voters who cast ballots in the last presidential election was higher than the turnout in 2016, 2012 and 2004. Data from the United States Election Project. Similarly, the participation rate for the 2022 midterms exceeded the levels of 2014, 2010, 2006 and 2002, at 41.8%.
Talarico’s campaign did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Talarico’s concern about turnout comes at the expense of prioritizing election security, according to at least one GOP strategist.
“James Talarico wants illegal aliens to vote “It’s in our elections,” Republican National Committee spokesman Zach Kraft told Fox News Digital.
“While Talarico puts illegals first, Ken Paxton will continue to put Texans first by working with Texans. President Trump “To ensure the SAVE America Act is signed and to ensure that foreign citizens never vote in American elections,” Kraft said, referring to the national voter integrity bill championed by Republicans in Congress.
Notably, as a state legislator, Talarico also voted against the bill. the state increased its penalties For illegal aliens voting in Texas elections is a Class A misdemeanor to a second-degree crime.
Texas Senate candidate James Talarico urged voters to reduce meat consumption in a 2022 clip that went viral Tuesday.
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Despite his pessimistic outlook on Texas’ voting laws, Talarico urged viewers to take confidence from long-term campaigns such as: civil rights movements and labor organizers.
“They were all facing a rigged system. So if they can do it, we can definitely do it against this stacked deck,” Talarico said.
Original article source: Talarico makes striking claims about why he thinks Texas elections aren’t ‘free and fair’
