James Talarico, a state representative and former teacher, is running for a U.S. Senate seat for Texas as a Democrat in the 2026 midterm elections. And though the state hasn't elected a Democrat to that office since 1992, some experts suggest Talarico might have a chance at defeating Republican Ken Paxton, the state's attorney general.
The surprisingly narrow polling in a state considered a Republican stronghold has made Talarico the target of rumors over the course of the campaign, including questions about whether he's a vegan and whether he once said God is nonbinary. Talarico also has been the target of purported FCC attempts to control when and where he can appear on TV — his late-night interviews with Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert were reportedly pulled from live broadcasts at the FCC's insistence and can only be watched on YouTube.
Here are eight claims about the candidate from our archives:
