James Talarico, a Texas state lawmaker and former middle-school teacher who has put his Christian faith at the forefront of his campaign, is one of two leading contenders in the Democratic primary for Senate in Texas on Tuesday.
Here are five things to know about Mr. Talarico, 36, of Austin.
1. He centers Christianity in his politics. A Presbyterian seminarian and the grandson of a Baptist preacher, Mr. Talarico blends biblical references into his progressive political arguments. “Economic justice is mentioned 3,000 times in our Scriptures,” he recently told “The Ezra Klein Show.” But, he added, “It’s nowhere to be seen in Christian nationalism or on the religious right.” He says he plans to eventually become a minister.
2. He got a boost from an interview with Stephen Colbert. Mr. Talarico sat last month for a 15-minute interview on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” that was posted online but was not broadcast on TV. Mr. Colbert said in a televised portion of his program that CBS’s lawyers had told him “in no uncertain terms” that the interview could not air because of guidance from the Trump administration concerning balancing airtime for political candidates. CBS disputed that it had blocked Mr. Colbert from broadcasting the interview, but in any event, the turn was a windfall for Mr. Talarico: The interview has logged more than two million views on YouTube, and his campaign reported raking in a hefty $2.5 million in the 24 hours after it was filmed.
3. He faced an allegation that he referred to former Representative Colin Allred as a “mediocre Black man” in a private conversation. The remark was attributed to Mr. Talarico by Morgan Thompson, a political content creator, who said he had made it at a campaign event in January. Mr. Talarico said that Ms. Thompson had misrepresented his comment, that he had termed Mr. Allred’s campaign as mediocre and that he would not criticize Mr. Allred on the basis of race. In a video on social media, Mr. Allred, a Democrat who exited the Senate primary to run for the House, told Mr. Talarico to “keep my name out of your mouth.”
4. He has often brought his message to conservative and nontraditional media. Mr. Talarico has jousted with Fox News hosts and once sat for a two-and-a-half-hour interview with Joe Rogan, the hugely popular podcast host with a vast male audience. Mr. Rogan appeared to come away impressed, saying that Mr. Talarico should run for president and describing him as a “good person.”
5. He has received praise from Barack Obama. In a podcast interview with the comedian Marc Maron, the former president said Mr. Talarico’s authenticity and integrity stood out. “He’s terrific,” Mr. Obama said in the interview, released last October. “Really talented young man.”
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