Democratic U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico spent much of a CNN town hall Wednesday night explaining his Christian faith, defending his abortion-rights stance and arguing that Texans have more in common than the political system would have them believe.
The former public-school teacher and Presbyterian seminarian student was challenged directly by audience members on abortion, biblical authority, gender-affirming care, national debt, Ukraine and immigration during a series of one-on-one debates that formed the centerpiece of the event.
The confrontational format produced some of the clearest examples yet of how Talarico is attempting to build a statewide coalition as he takes on state Attorney General Ken Paxton in the Texas U.S. Senate race. Talarico, seeking to become the first Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate from Texas since 1988, invoked fellow Texan and former President Lyndon B. Johnson as he argued for sending a teacher to Washington.
"I am tired of us being divided into teams: left versus right, blue versus red, urban versus rural," Talarico told the audience. "The truth is, we're all on the same team."
The message came as the Republican attorney general, who did not attend the event, announced the launch of a statewide bus tour that will start Saturday, according to his post.
"Texans don't back down, and neither do I," Paxton wrote on X hours before the event. "I have one message for the far-left extremists who are trying to destroy Texas: Come and Take It."
During the town hall, Paxton also attacked Talarico's energy record in a separate social media post, writing that the Democrat had "tried to dismantle the oil and gas industry" and was waging a "war on Texas energy."
Newsweek reached out to Paxton's campaign for comment.
About 80 minutes into the town hall, Talarico noted that he hadn't mentioned Paxton's name at all.
"We cannot afford Ken Paxton's corruption," Talarico said to close the event.
Talarico Shares Story on National Stage
Talarico, 37, has emerged as one of his party's most recognizable figures in Texas politics.
Born in Round Rock, he attended Texas public schools before earning a degree in government from the University of Texas at Austin and a master's degree in education policy from Harvard University.
Before entering politics, Talarico taught sixth-grade language arts at Rhodes Middle School in San Antonio, an experience he frequently cites as pivotal in shaping his political worldview. He later worked in educational nonprofit leadership before launching a campaign for the Texas House in 2018, flipping a suburban district previously held by Republicans.
A Presbyterian seminarian whose grandfather was a Baptist preacher, Talarico repeatedly emphasized the role faith plays in his public life.
"My faith teaches me servant leadership, the idea that being a leader means being a servant," he said. "Over four terms in the Texas House, I've served my constituents, and I'm looking forward to doing that in the U.S. Senate."
One of the most striking exchanges came when an independent voter, educator and self-described Orthodox Catholic, challenged Talarico on abortion. She argued that Democrats' support for abortion rights makes it difficult for many Catholics to trust the party on broader questions of human dignity and public policy.
Talarico responded by seeking common ground.
"You know, some of my spiritual heroes, like Pope Francis and Pope Leo, are pro-life, and they are consistently pro-life," he said.
While acknowledging that they reached different conclusions on abortion, Talarico argued that both sides should be able to unite around reducing unwanted pregnancies and abortions.
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"If we treat this issue as a public health problem and not a culture war problem, then we can actually make progress together," he said.
The exchange grew more pointed when Talarico argued that Texas' abortion ban had created dangerous outcomes for women facing medical emergencies.
"If we are authentically pro-life, I think we should be disturbed by the outcomes of this extreme abortion ban," he said.
Despite their disagreement, the conversation ended cordially, with both participants finding common ground in supporting human life more broadly.
Defending His Christian Faith
Talarico later faced questions from a Republican voter about past comments concerning gender and theology.
Asked directly whether the Bible is "the absolute source of truth and God's final authoritative word," Talarico answered simply: "Yes."
The audience member pressed him on previous remarks when he called God nonbinary, a remark that become fodder for Republican campaign attacks.
"When I said that, I was being provocative, and I want to admit that and come clean about that," Talarico said.
He argued that some of his comments had been misunderstood or stripped of broader theological context. Talarico repeatedly stressed that Christians should be able to disagree without questioning one another's faith.
"You are my sister in Christ," he told the voter. "It's OK if you and I have disagreements. That should be encouraged, not discouraged."
Talarico Calls National Debt 'Intergenerational Theft'
National debt became the focus of another notable exchange when another independent voter challenged Talarico on how he would finance healthcare and education investments while the federal government faces rising debt obligations.
Talarico called the debt crisis a moral issue.
"We are stealing from future generations," he said. "It is intergenerational theft."
He argued the deficit could be reduced by ending what he described as tax loopholes benefiting billionaires and wealthy Americans while pursuing a more restrained foreign policy. He also demanded an end to the war in Iran, which he said is costing taxpayers $1 billion a day.
At the same time, he acknowledged that Democrats need to embrace being stewards of taxpayer dollars.
"Let me say something that a lot of Democrats aren't willing to say," he said. "We should be looking for efficiency in our government."
Ukraine, Iran and Foreign Policy
Another voter pressed Talarico on continued U.S. support for Ukraine, questioning why billions are being spent overseas while communities at home continue to face economic hardship.
Talarico defended the assistance.
"If we can stop [Russian President] Vladimir Putin in Ukraine, then we're not going to have to stop him elsewhere," he said. "In some ways, I see this as a cost-saving measure."
He simultaneously criticized American involvement in Iran, arguing the conflict was draining resources, driving up fuel costs and risking additional U.S. casualties.
"We should not be sending our brave men and women off to die in another forever war in the Middle East," he said.
Talarico on Transgender Issues
A later discussion focused on transgender healthcare and government overreach.
Talarico said he supports barring gender-transition surgeries for minors while opposing broader restrictions on transgender healthcare.
He said he attempted to narrow a Republican-backed Texas bill to focus only on surgical procedures for minors but opposed the final legislation because it extended beyond that.
The audience member challenging him argued government should not be involved in those medical decisions at all. The exchange ended with Talarico returning to the economic populism that surfaced repeatedly throughout the night.
"Powerful people are using small minorities in our community to distract from their corruption," he said. "The only minority destroying America is the billionaires."
ICE and Deportations
Talarico also rejected suggestions that he supports abolishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a charge Republicans have frequently leveled against Democrats.
Asked about previous comments describing ICE as a "secret police force," Talarico said the agency serves a legitimate purpose but argued recent enforcement actions have crossed a line.
"No, and I never have," he said when asked if he supports abolishing ICE.
"We need Immigration and Customs Enforcement in this country," he said.
Talarico said enforcement should focus on violent criminals, gang members and cartels rather than longtime residents with deep community ties.
"We were told that ICE was going to go after violent criminals," he said. "They're going after Uber drivers. They're going after small-business owners. They're going after grandmothers and infants."
During the exchange, Talarico cited the case of Lorenzo Salgado, a Houston-area resident who he said had lived in Texas for decades and raised three sons who attended college.
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"Lorenzo Salgado embodies the American dream," Talarico said. "Lorenzo Salgado was a child of God. Lorenzo, our fellow Texan, deserves justice."
Talarico started the event by addressing online rumors that emerged after he stepped away from the campaign trail due to illness earlier this month.
"I think the responsible thing to do when you have something like the flu is to stay at home and not get other people sick," he said. "That decision to stay home for a week sent my opponent and his conspiracy theorists spiraling."
Talarico joked that social media users had falsely claimed he had dropped out of the race, been sent to a mental hospital in Ohio and even died.
"Conspiracy theories don't put food on the table. They don't put gas in the tank. They don't actually improve our lives," he said.
That message ultimately became the through-line of the town hall.
What the Polls Say on Paxton vs. Talarico
Talarico has spent the general election courting independents and moderates, while Paxton and the national GOP have tried to tie the Democrat to his party's left wing. Vice President JD Vance rallied for Paxton in East Texas on Tuesday, days after President Donald Trump held a rally in San Antonio.
The race remains tight. A Marist poll released Wednesday found Talarico leading Paxton 47 percent to 45 percent among likely voters. Among registered voters, Talarico held a 4-point lead, which was down from 6 points a month earlier. The poll's margin of error for likely voters was plus or minus 4.9 percentage points.
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The poll offered bright spots for the Democrat among independents, with 52 percent saying they backed Talarico. Paxton's favorability was 22 points underwater, with 34 percent viewing him favorably and 56 percent unfavorably.
Despite those numbers, 53 percent of likely voters said they still expect Paxton to win the race.
Newsweek’s reporters and editors used Martyn, our AI assistant, to produce this story. Learn more about Martyn here. Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Anna Commander and Edward T. Cummins