A Joe Rogan-Blessed Democrat? James Talarico Draws Eyes of a Party Desperate For New Leaders

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Over the weekend, a lot of institutional Washington suddenly and enthusiastically discovered James Talarico, a seminary student and member of the Texas state House. The find came during an impressive outing for the 36-year-old Democrat on Joe Rogan’s podcast in which the aspiring preacher espoused the same brand of sharp sound bytes that has earned him almost a million TikTok followers. Over more than two hours, Talarico explained to Rogan why a Texas law requiring the posting of the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms is “un-Christian,” the coming political fights won’t be about Left or Right but rather the top and the bottom of society, and how both parties get it wrong when they treat politicians like Messianic figures.

“James Talarico, you need to run for President,” Rogan said. “We need someone who is actually a good person.”

Still, Talarico’s sudden place in the imagination of D.C.’s elites is not entirely unwarranted. He is seen as a dark-horse candidate to challenge Sen. John Cornyn’s already dicey re-election bid in Texas, where a scandal-soaked Attorney General Ken Paxton may plausibly land a Trump endorsement for his primary challenge. Paxton is ahead in polling and is better-liked among Texas’ MAGA base, but Cornyn, who’s held his seat since 2002 and is still a power center in the Upper Chamber, is seen as a stronger candidate in the general election. Their fight to the March primary is already getting ugly, as Paxton’s wife has recently filed for divorce “on biblical grounds,” which Cornyn cited to The Washington Post as news that “is going to tell a lot of people that there was more fire there where there was smoke.” 

Talarico might have some steps between his desk in Austin and the Resolute Desk, to be sure. Few have seen an ascent that clear-cut, although Barack Obama went from the Illinois state Senate to a national ticket in a harried four years. And the excitement the Texan is drawing might say more about the anemic state of the Democratic Party than Talarico’s national prospects. 

There is a deep reservoir of talent on the Democratic side in the Lone Star State, many of whom are champing at the bit to face a potentially bruised GOP nominee at the top of the 2026 ticket. Former Rep. Colin Allred, who lost a bid for Senate last year against incumbent Ted Cruz, said he is racing next year for the seat against Cornyn. Rep. Joaquin Castro, too, is in the mix for the race. And former Rep. Beto O’Rourke on Sunday said he was undecided on running for the Democratic nomination himself; he unsuccessfully ran for Senator in 2018, President in 2020, and Governor in 2022. “I’m very optimistic about Democrats’ opportunity in 2026,” O’Rourke said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

Still, let’s zoom out for a minute. For close to two decades, we’ve been just one election away from Texas turning blue. The last time a Democrat won statewide in Texas was 1994—a year before Windows 95 hit the market. Texas is in a record dry spell, and there’s no point pretending otherwise.

O’Rourke is high-water mark in recent memory, and he captured 48% of the vote in his 2018 campaign. He raised $80 million and impressed even those of us who went to Texas that October with plans to slag him. And, to his credit, Cornyn is a far less divisive figure than O’Rourke’s rival in 2018, Sen. Ted Cruz.

To his credit, Talarico sounds a whole lot different than the partisan Democrats or Republicans here in Washington. 

“I think we need to start listening to Democrats who are in red and purple areas. There is something about living in a red state that makes you different from a national Democrat who lives in a blue city on the coast. I think we learn how to talk with people outside of our party in a more effective way, because it’s a matter of political survival out here,” Talarico told Rogan. “I can’t pass anything in the Texas Legislature without getting Republican support, so I’ve had to find ways to build relationships and build bridges across partisan divides as a Texas Democrat.”

Keep in mind, he is making these comments as national Democrats are weighing their own post-2024 reckoning. According to reporting over the weekend from The New York Times, their autopsy of the Joe Biden-turned-Kamala Harris Democratic ticket last year will avoid any real accounting for Biden’s decision to run or any real choices Harris made. Instead, the focus of the still-being-written report is on outside allied groups’ choices, a move that kind of avoids the point and spares the party and real accountability.

Talarico might be able to put some distance between himself and national Democrats without too much effort. His studies of theology are not natural fits in the secular Democratic identity of late. His fluency on digital platforms may mesh neatly with a relatively younger cohort of Democrats who finally seem to be meeting voters where they are on social platforms while the Old Guard clings to a playbook from the 1990s rooted in buying television ads and postcards. And Talarico is so far outside the splash zone of partisan Washington that he might just be able to stand unstained by the ugliness of this town. 

Still, that so many Democrats spent the weekend obsessing over a relatively unknown figure in Austin, who represents about 200,000 people in a deep-blue district, shows the extent of their desperation. They failed to stop Trump’s hugely unpopular tax- and spending-cuts package. They are heading into an August recess with an unhappy base and little to show for a completely shut-out-of-power reality. The midterms should be ripe for Democratic gains but the party has no one at the helm calling the shots. And there won’t be a viable leader until Democrats pick a presidential nominee for 2028. Given the uncertainty drifting toward that moment, Talarico is just as plausible as anyone—blessed by a podcaster who helped Trump win the White House and the manosphere last year. It’s long odds, but Democrats don’t exactly have a guide to firmer ground in the offing.

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