Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico, who posted during the 2020 unrest that “If only George Floyd was a blonde salon owner,” donated to a group that advocated cutting Austin police funding, campaigned against a ballot initiative to increase police staffing as homicides rose in the city, voted against Republican-backed law enforcement legislation, and called ICE a “secret police force” that should be “torn down.”
Following the May 2020 death of George Floyd, Talarico wrote, “If only George Floyd was a blonde salon owner,” while questioning where “anti-government protestors,” “freedom-defenders,” and “liberty-lovers” were when “a black man is killed by the state.” He later argued that the country needed to “dismantle white supremacy and institutional racism.”
After another user questioned whether the posts were constructive, Talarico responded that “true love means holding our friends to a higher standard” and later said he wanted conservatives “to join this struggle for justice.”
In June 2020, Talarico’s state House campaign donated $2,500 to the Austin Justice Coalition, a group that advocated reducing Austin police funding to the “minimum possible” amount following the deaths of Floyd and Javier Ambler, a black man who died after being repeatedly tased by law enforcement following a 2019 traffic stop pursuit.
Talarico said his campaign had “proudly donated” to an organization that championed “educational equity, economic opportunity, and police reform” and encouraged supporters to match the contribution because “we believe #BlackLivesMatter.”
Months later, the Austin City Council approved roughly $150 million in cuts and reallocations from the Austin Police Department budget. After the cuts, Austin experienced a sharp increase in homicides, with some analyses cited by the New York Post finding murders surged nearly 50 percent.
In 2021, James Talarico also opposed Austin’s Proposition A ballot initiative, which would have required the city to maintain at least two police officers per 1,000 residents. Supporters argued the measure was necessary to address rising homicide rates and shrinking officer ranks, while opponents — including Austin city officials and unions representing firefighters and paramedics — warned it could force cuts to other city services.
The measure ultimately failed by roughly 68 percent to 32 percent. During the campaign, George Soros’s Open Policy Center contributed $500,000 to No Way on Prop A, a group opposing the initiative.
Talarico wrote at the time that Republicans were using “‘Defund the Police’ scare tactics” and arguing that “the only way to achieve true public safety is to invest directly in communities.”
Notably, after Talarico secured the Democratic nomination in March 2026, Alex Soros reposted a message from Talarico’s campaign that read, “We’re about to take back Texas.”
Texas Republicans later responded to Austin’s police defunding efforts by passing House Bill 1900, legislation signed by Greg Abbott that imposed penalties on large cities that reduced police funding year over year. The law restricted annexation authority, limited tax increases, reduced access to some state funding streams, and imposed other financial penalties on municipalities classified as “defunding municipalities.” James Talarico voted against the bill.
During a 2022 speech, Talarico stated that “prison is violence” and called for dismantling what he described as “this system of violence.” He also said, “Poverty is violence. Pollution is violence. And yes, prison is violence,” while arguing for a system “rooted in love not violence.” In the same speech, Talarico declared that “people don’t belong in cages.”
Talarico also voted against Texas legislation tightening bail restrictions for violent and sexual offenders under the Damon Allen Act, which was named after Texas DPS Trooper Damon Allen, who was murdered in 2017 by a suspect who was out on bail.
Republican National Committee spokesman Zach Kraft exclusively told Breitbart News,“You have to be a real sick individual to sit around and daydream about George Floyd being a blonde woman. Unfortunately, James Talarico is as wacked out of his mind as it gets and has spent years working to defund the police and prioritize criminals over safe communities.”
Talarico campaign spokesman J.T. Ennis has stated, “James does not support defunding the police, and has consistently voted to allocate billions to fund law enforcement.” He also remarked, “While John Cornyn, Ken Paxton, and the billionaires who prop them up try to deceive voters by presenting a false choice between funding law enforcement and funding crime prevention services, James will continue building a people-powered movement that takes on this broken political system.”
Talarico’s criticism of law enforcement has also extended to the federal level. Talarico’s opposition to immigration enforcement has extended beyond campaign rhetoric. He partnered with the activist group United We Dream, which has supported abolishing ICE and Border Patrol, to encourage illegal immigrants to “fight back” against deportations. He also led a Stop ICE rally where he urged supporters to “stand up and fight back” against federal immigration enforcement.
In March 2026, Talarico doubled down on those positions, referring to ICE as a “secret police force” and saying he would oppose any Department of Homeland Security nominee unwilling to “tear down” the agency. He further praised “undocumented students” he taught in San Antonio as among the “most patriotic students” he had known, while arguing federal immigration enforcement actions against illegal immigrants were “immoral” and “unacceptable.”
Talarico will face the winner of the May 26 Republican runoff between Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Sen. John Cornyn in November. A recent University of Houston Hobby School poll found Paxton leading Cornyn 48 percent to 45 percent among likely Republican runoff voters, while voters were evenly split on which Republican would be stronger against Talarico in the general election.
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