James Talarico, the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate in Texas, recently found himself in the spotlight after a controversial social media post. In it, he claimed his “white skin” provided him “immunity” from the “virus of racism,” sparking a fierce backlash from Republicans and pundits who criticized the statement as an example of “peak woke” ideology and accused it of being inherently racist.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, seized the opportunity to criticize Talarico’s message, asserting that it signified a political misstep that would cost him dearly in the upcoming November 3 election. This election represents a significant chance for Democrats to claim one of Texas’ Senate seats, something they haven’t achieved since 1988.
Talarico, who recently overcame U.S. Representative Jasmine Crockett in the Democratic primary, made the contentious remarks in a post dated May 8, 2020. His comments were intended to highlight the pervasive nature of systemic racism, drawing a parallel to the then-emerging COVID-19 pandemic. He suggested that, like a virus, racism could be spread by those who may not exhibit obvious signs, such as sporting a white hood or Confederate flag.
“White skin gives me and every white American immunity from the virus,” Talarico wrote. “But we spread it wherever we go—through our words, our actions, and our systems. We don’t have to be showing symptoms—like a white hood or a Confederate flag—to be contagious.” His words also coincided with the public outrage over the murder of Ahmaud Arbery, an African American man killed while jogging in Georgia, which had further fueled discussions about race in America.
Governor Abbott, who is campaigning for a fourth term, quickly weighed in on the matter. “If this is a real Talarico post, he is toast,” Abbott remarked, indicating the potential political fallout Talarico might face as a result of his controversial statement.
“If this is a real Talarico post, he is toast,” responded Abbott, who is seeking a fourth term as governor later this year.
“This is Tim Walz clone territory. He could win in Minnesota, but not in Texas,” added the Republican.
US Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) lashed out: “Left-wing zealots are very, very different from ordinary Americans. Among other things, they are open racists.”
Iowa Solicitor General Eric Wessan also scolded: “Officials should not treat people differently based on skin color. There is nothing magic in Mr. Talarico’s complexion. It’s not infectious, evil, or bad.”
“To the extent he is trying to attack ‘the West’, that’s wrong too. Stereotyping whiteness as KKK or confederate is gross,” Wessan further said.
Conservative and centrist pundits also joined in the pile-on, with one referring to the comments as “comically woke.”
“Talarico should try something unusual that worked for [New York City Mayor] Zohran Mamdani: He should apologize for bad past comments,” posted journalist Josh Barro.
“Mamdani didn’t win skeptics over just by being handsome and charming — he announced that he had changed and said he was sorry. (Kamala should have tried this too!)”
“Add this to ‘God is non-binary‘ and you have a Republican campaign against him,” added Commentary editor John Podhoretz, referencing a video clip of Talarico uttering the phrase on the legislature’s floor in 2021.
“There’s a rational desire from Dems to find a candidate who didn’t say this stuff publicly in 2020-22, so they can pretend they didn’t put us all through this nonsense,” noted Fox News contributor Mary Katharine Ham. “But it will be hard to find a non-R person old enough to run for office who didn’t [because] ‘silence was violence.’”
“While they lob stale attacks to mislead Texans, we are uniting the people of Texas to win in November,” Talarico campaign spokesman JT Ennis responded, before accusing US Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, Abbott and “the billionaires who prop them up” of being “scared of James Talarico for good reason.”
“Our campaign is building a movement poised to change the politics of this state and take power back for working people,” Ennis added.
Talarico will face either Cornyn or Paxton in the November election, as both GOP candidates advanced to a May 26 runoff after failing to secure a majority of their party’s primary vote on Tuesday.
