The Chosen Star Endorses Talarico in Texas, But Which Candidate Most Authentically Represents Christian Values?

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Jordan Walker Ross, the Arlington, Texas-born actor who plays the apostle Little James on The Chosen, formally entered the Texas political debate on October 15 by endorsing Democratic U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico. The announcement was timed to coincide with the launch of "Faithful Texans for Talarico," a campaign-created coalition designed to court religious voters before the November 3 general election.

The choice of messenger was unmistakably calculated. The Chosen, a crowd-funded multi-season dramatization of the life of Jesus Christ, has developed one of the most passionate and predominantly conservative Christian audiences in recent television history, making Ross's decision to back a Democrat an immediately polarizing move that drew reactions across the political spectrum.

A Native Texan Roots His Endorsement in Faith

Addressing his social media followers in a campaign video, Ross drew a direct line between his upbringing and his political choice. "I grew up in Texas, surrounded by faith my entire life, so that's exactly why I'm proud to be supporting James Talarico," he said, as reported by ChurchLeaders. Ross was born two months premature, which led to his living with cerebral palsy and scoliosis. He has built much of his public persona around disability advocacy and the message of self-acceptance, treating both as natural extensions of a faith that insists on the dignity of every human being.

Ross has extended his screen work well beyond The Chosen's biblical world. He appears in 1883, Taylor Sheridan's Fort Worth-produced Yellowstone prequel, as well as in the Marvel film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, a range of credits that established him as a recognizable presence in prestige streaming at a moment when Texas was rapidly becoming one of the country's busiest production hubs.

A Seminary-Trained Legislator Who Goes Viral With Scripture

The candidate receiving the endorsement, James Talarico, is a 37-year-old former middle school English teacher from San Antonio who entered the Texas House in 2018 representing a Central Texas district. He has since added a master's degree in theological studies from Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary to his earlier degrees from the University of Texas at Austin and Harvard, where he studied education policy. His legislative speeches, which frequently invoke biblical ethics in arguments against school vouchers and restrictive immigration policy, have drawn millions of views across social platforms and turned him into one of the more unusual political figures in state Democratic politics.

Talarico's central campaign argument holds that a genuine reading of the Gospels supports rather than opposes progressive policies on healthcare, immigration, and economic fairness. That framing is what his campaign sought to amplify through the Faithful Texans for Talarico initiative and through an endorser whose entire public identity is built around representing one of Jesus's own disciples.

Paxton Wins the Primary, Then Deploys 'Pastors for Paxton'

Ken Paxton clinched the Republican nomination in May 2026 after defeating four-term incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in a runoff election sealed by a last-minute presidential endorsement, making Cornyn the first Republican senator from Texas ever to lose a reelection primary. Democrats quickly framed Paxton's nomination as an opportunity, pointing to the legal baggage that has trailed the attorney general for years: the Republican-controlled Texas House impeached him in 2023, and while the Texas Senate subsequently acquitted him, the proceedings produced extensive public testimony about his conduct. In the general election, Paxton has emphasized his support for abortion restrictions and the classroom display of the Ten Commandments while rallying a religious constituency. The week the Ross endorsement broke, his campaign countered by announcing "Pastors for Paxton," a coalition of 27 Texas faith leaders that includes former NFL player Jack Brewer, Fort Worth's Mercy Culture Church pastor Nate Schatzline, and Richard Ellis of Reunion Church in Dallas.

Film Incentives Enter the Political Fight

Republican critics wasted little time connecting the endorsement to state film policy. Texas Senate Bill 22, enacted in 2025, established a $1.5 billion, decade-long fund designed to attract productions that hire Texas workers and film the majority of their project in state — a program that benefits shows like The Chosen, which wrapped its seventh and final season in Midlothian. State Rep. Brian Harrison, a consistent critic of the incentive program, posted on X that it amounts to "a socialist scheme" and accused it of producing a direct political consequence: "Your money is being used to help elect Democrats like James Talarico." Harrison has argued that channeling tax revenue toward the entertainment industry gives outsized influence to cultural producers whose values are at odds with the majority of Texas voters. The line of attack served a dual purpose: discrediting the endorsement while keeping film subsidies as a live legislative controversy.

Ross Does Not Back Down

Faced with the familiar concern that political activism could cost him with The Chosen's conservative fan base, Ross showed no sign of retreat. He has maintained that performers hold the same civic rights as any other American and that he considers honest disagreement from viewers to be a natural part of democratic life rather than a threat. That steadiness is consistent with the public identity he has cultivated over his career: someone who moves through difficult terrain — physical, personal, and now political — without treating visibility itself as a vulnerability to be managed.

A Race Where Both Sides Quote Scripture

The U.S. Senate contest between Talarico and Paxton has become something genuinely rare in American electoral politics: a race in which both candidates are competing for ownership of the same religious vocabulary rather than simply fighting over different policy terrain. The Houston Chronicle, the largest daily newspaper in Houston, endorsed Talarico for the seat, describing his campaign through the language of servant leadership and contrasting it directly with what the editorial board called the moral failure of the Republican incumbent. Whether the Ross endorsement moves any religious voters who were not already committed to one side — or whether it simply reinforces the existing divide in a race with national stakes — will not be known until November 3. What is already clear is that in a contest where both campaigns are reading from the same text, having a familiar face from one of Christianity's most-watched dramas speak directly on your behalf is a significant symbolic asset.

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