Democrat Texas candidate for U.S. Senate James Talarico in 2024 labeled those who advocate for private school vouchers as Christian Nationalists.

Talarico was speaking during the South by Southwest event in Austin, Texas, when he claimed, “Part of this Christian Nationalist movement is trying to pass these things called private school vouchers.”

“If you’re not an education policy person you may have never heard of this, but essentially it’s an effort to take tax dollars out of our public schools, which are underfunded as they are. Texas is 43rd in the nation in per-student education funding. So, it’s taking dollars out of the classroom and giving it to unaccountable private schools. Usually Christian private schools,” Talarico added.

“Again, part of this effort to blur the lines between church and state. The governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, made this his top legislative priority for the year last year,” he continued:

The Democrat, who is running against the GOP nominee, Attorney General Ken Paxton, used the term “Christian Nationalist” which has also been used by leftists trying to distract and scare its voter base into submission, according to Breitbart News.

“‘Christian nationalism’ is the left’s new buzzword, with Democrat strategists and influencers trying to make it ubiquitous on the airwaves and social media,” the outlet said.

In regard to Talarico’s comments about vouchers, Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) signed a voucher bill in May 2025 to create a $1 billion school choice program, Breitbart News reported at the time:

“Gone are the days that families are limited to only the school assigned by government,” said Abbott, moments before signing. “The day has arrived that empowers parents to choose the school that is best for their child.”

The bill will help parents pay for accredited private school tuition and school-related expenses. The law will go into effect on September 1; the program is expected to launch in late 2026.

In 2020, Breitbart News reported on a study that found school vouchers improved public and private school outcomes.

Talarico also supports abortion, has claimed displaying the Ten Commandments in public schools is an act of “violence,” suggested God is “non-binary,” and has claimed “modern science” recognized there were “six” sexes.