Rachel Maddow Gushes Over Talarico, Claims GOP Wants To Ensure 'People Can't Vote'

Siena Do
August 4th, 2026 7:11 PM

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MS NOW's The Rachel Maddow Show on SnapStream

Every religion stems from the idea that there’s something bigger than all of us. But when politics becomes your religion, politicians become your gods and priests, to whom you confess your sins. On Monday’s episode of The Rachel Maddow Show on MS NOW, Maddow spent half the runtime gushing over Texas Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico, infamous for his watered-down Christianity. She also touted his religion and elevated Talarico to some kind of moral paragon that she fails to emulate.

Maddow had a seven-minute runup before bringing Talarico on, attacking his opponent Ken Paxton and playing a TikTok clip of Talarico speaking about President Trump’s actions that supposedly insulted Jesus. The clip went viral, she claimed, because it shows “Talarico's strength as a candidate and his strength as a political communicator.” And other clips show “Talarico giving a full biblical exposition,” for which he was qualified to do “both as a Texas Democrat and as a seminarian.”

“There is something specifically about James Talarico that I think has really driven Republicans to distraction,” Maddow crowed. “They are quite palpably unnerved by him. They are desperate for people to not hear him speak.”

 

 

On the contrary, every time Talarico opens his mouth, he gives a free ad for Paxton’s campaign. Most of Talarico’s publicity comes from Republicans highlighting his insane statements.

Maddow asked Talarico how he was different from Beto O’Rourke, who lost his 2018 senate race to Ted Cruz. 

“I just want to speak to all the wounded idealists,” Talarico answered. “I didn't think it was possible to find a candidate worse than Ted Cruz, but I think we found him in Ken Paxton.”

Maddow noted that when attacking Paxton, Talarico avoided personal controversies, "Listening to you talk about Ken Paxton that way, I'm struck by the contrast in the way you just sort of made the case against him there . . . I'm wondering if that's a conscious decision from you to avoid what may be salacious charges, but potentially really politically resonant charges about his personal character." 

“I'm just going to stick to Ken Paxton's public record because there's plenty of material there to run a campaign,” Talarico answered. “My faith is central in my life, it's central in my public service. And there's a teaching from my tradition to love your enemies. And it's a - it's become kind of cliche, but it really is a radical teaching.”

 

 

Loving your enemies is a radical teaching, but perhaps not in the way Talarico uses it. Real love doesn’t mean always getting along with someone, and it certainly doesn’t mean telling them everything they want to hear.

Then, Maddow made her confession:

One of the things that, I find it personally most challenging, to be empathetic about or, like, you're talking about love your enemy. One of the things that I just, I have a real hard time getting over and just thinking about, in a way that doesn't get me personally exorcised, is when people use political power to make sure that other people can't vote, when you are using the prerogatives of your control of the state or your control of the federal government, whatever it is, to make sure that you can't be ousted.  

 

 

In reality, 18.6 million people registered to vote in Texas in 2024, out of the estimated 28 million citizens. Adding a couple extra steps to verify voters and secure elections isn’t mass disenfranchisement, as Talarico claimed:

We have seen the most aggressive attack on black political power since Jim Crow, gutting of the Voting Rights Act, these racist redistricting maps. And I think the first thing that we have to do. . .  has to be passing the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and guaranteeing that all of our neighbors, particularly our black and brown neighbors, can access their God-given rights at the ballot box. 

 

 

It all goes to show that the liberal media will use every outrageous, exaggerated claim to try and win back power, with no regard for the truth.

The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read:

MS NOW's The Rachel Maddow Show
8/3/26
9:10:26 p.m. Eastern

(...)

RACHEL MADDOW: And this is the man Texas Democrats have nominated to beat Ken Paxton and flip that state - flip that seat blue.

[Cut to video]

JAMES TALARICO: The President of the United States just said that I insulted Jesus. You want to know what insults Jesus? Kicking the sick off their health care while cutting taxes for billionaires. You know what insults Jesus? Deporting the stranger and separating babies from their mothers. You know what insults Jesus? Bombing innocent schoolchildren in Iran and sending our brave men and women off to die in another forever war. You know what insults Jesus? Covering up the Epstein files and then refusing to prosecute a single person in them.

[Cut back to live]

MADDOW: That is James Talarico. He's the Democratic nominee for the United States Senate in Texas. 

That clip is from his Tiktok channel. That clip has 24.3 million views. 

And that tells you a little bit - a little something about James Talarico's strength as a candidate and his strength as a political communicator. 

You may have heard about James Talarico's appearance on the Joe Rogan podcast, where Joe Rogan told him point-blank that he should run for president. 

You may have seen the viral clip of James Talarico opposing the Texas Republicans requirement to post the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms. That clip went viral because it included James Talarico giving a full biblical exposition of not just how unconstitutional and un-American it was, but how un-Christian it was as well. He was able to speak to that, both as a Texas Democrat and as a seminarian. 

You may have seen his appearance on The View, which led the FCC to start a, quote, "equal time" investigation of ABC for the crime of putting on James Talarico. 

You may have seen his appearance with Stephen Colbert, which CBS lawyers told Colbert to cancel, and Colbert then did the interview purely for his YouTube channel, where it promptly got about 10 million views and sparked millions of dollars in fundraising for James Talarico's campaign. 

Texas has 32 million people in two time zones with 20 media markets. It is profoundly expensive to run there, and Democrats have felt for a long time like the deck is really stacked, stacked against them there. Democrats tell themselves every couple of years that maybe this is the year they can finally start winning there. 

But no Democrat has won statewide in Texas since 1994. Is this year different? 

There is something about James Talarico and, frankly, something about Ken Paxton, too, that makes this U.S. Senate race seem legitimately winnable for Texas, for Democrats. And there is something specifically about James Talarico that I think has really driven Republicans to distraction. They are quite palpably unnerved by him. They are desperate for people to not hear him speak. 

It is that same something that have - that has Democrats nationwide talking about James Talarico as more than just a promising candidate in this one race. Democrats nationwide have been talking about him as somebody who's really important, perhaps to the whole future of the Democratic Party. 

Joining us now for the interview is James Talarico, Democratic nominee for Texas Senate. Mr. Talarico, thank you so much for being here.

TALARICO: Thank you for having me.

MADDOW: I really appreciate the chance to meet you in person. We've never talked before.

TALARICO: No.

MADDOW: I've been really looking forward to this.

TALARICO: Well, same here.

MADDOW: So, talk me into the idea, that you can win a statewide race in Texas right now in 2026 when Beto O'Rourke couldn't with that remarkable campaign - with either of his two remarkable campaigns, when Colin Allred couldn't, when when Wendy Davis couldn't, these are all candidates who got a lot of national attention, got a lot of, sort of, Democratic hopes up. Why are you different?

TALARICO: George Carlin has this great line that inside every cynic is a wounded idealist. And so, I just want to speak to all the wounded idealists who are watching this show right now and trying to figure out if they can believe that winning Texas is possible. 

2018 is when Beto O'Rourke got within two and a half points of beating Ted Cruz. The backlash that we're seeing to the extremism and the corruption in our government is bigger than it was in 2018. 

And then, I didn't think it was possible to find a candidate worse than Ted Cruz, but I think we found him in Ken Paxton. I mean, this is the most corrupt politician in our state, one of the most corrupt in the entire country. You mentioned that since taking office, he's become a multimillionaire, all while the pay of most Texans has remained stagnant for years, for decades. He now owns 15 homes, while most Texans can't afford one. He's taken bribes from wealthy donors, all while he blocks overtime pay for Texas workers and guts our health care. I mean, he was one of the attorneys general who led the fight against the Affordable Care Act, which has led to premiums skyrocketing for Texans all over the state. And you just saw this month that he's taken these lavish vacations to Iceland, to England on the 4th of July, quite a decision to spend our 250th anniversary from the British--

MADDOW: Independence from where?

TALARICO: Yeah, right.

MADDOW: Exactly. 

TALARICO: He was with the British on that anniversary.

And most Texans can't afford to take a vacation given this cost of living crisis. 

So, Ken paxton's corruption is costing us in the state of Texas. And, and it's why the people closest to Ken Paxton know he's unfit for office. You mentioned that his own party impeached him in the Texas house. His own staff reported him to the FBI, his own defense attorney just endorsed me in this race. I'm kind of expecting his family dog to run away and head over to my house any day now. 

I mean, I think in a time when we're all so divided, there is one thing that Texans, Democrats, Independents and Republicans can agree on. And that's that we can't afford Ken Paxton's corruption.

MADDOW: Listening to you talk about Ken Paxton that way, I'm struck by the contrast in the way you just sort of made the case against him there, and that clip that I just played from that John Cornyn brutal primary ad, hitting him on personal ethical issues, the very messy divorce, the allegations of adultery, those expensive vacations that you just referenced, part of the reason those got a lot of tabloid attention is because he was taking those vacations with a woman who's not his wife. She's also associated with some of the properties that he's been found to have, sort of without explanation. I'm wondering if that's a conscious decision from you to avoid what may be salacious charges, but potentially really politically resonant charges about his personal character.

TALARICO: I mean, I think the only thing worse than Ken Paxton's personal cheating is his public cheating. I mean, yes, he's betrayed the people closest to him. 

You mentioned this being the anniversary of his famous mugshot, and that was because he was indicted for securities fraud, for investment fraud. And what's fascinating about that story - I'm not a lawyer, but when you read about what happened, he was scamming his own friends. He convinced his friends to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars into a tech company, and then he didn't tell them that he was getting a commission off those investments. 

And so, I've said on the campaign trail, if Ken Paxton is willing to scam his own friends for a quick buck, what makes you think he's not going to scam you in the United States Senate? 

And the last thing I'll say is I served with Ken Paxton's wife. She's a state senator in Texas. Senator Angela Paxton, I have great respect for the senator. We don't agree on every issue, but I respect her public service. And the last thing I want to do is, is, kind of, bring up all this personal stuff when there's so much public stuff to really prosecute the case on. 

And so I'm just going to stick to Ken Paxton's public record because there's plenty of material there to run a campaign and, and make the choice in this election clear for the people of Texas.

MADDOW: Your relationship with Republicans in the legislature is interesting politically, because as a Democrat in the Texas legislature, obviously, you're in the minority. 

TALARICO: Yes.

MADDOW: Republicans have had that - had a lock on control in both chambers for a long time. 

But still, as a Democrat in the house, you have been able to pass a remarkable amount of legislation where you were lead sponsor--

TALARICO: Yes.

MADDOW: --as a Democrat, and you still got stuff made, made into law. 

What should the country understand - you're running for this position in the United States Senate - understand about how, as a Democratic Texas U.S. Senator, you'd be able to sort of put those lessons to work at the federal level. 

I don't think that Democrats nationwide have much faith that there is any - anything to be achieved by working with Republicans at the federal level. But you've done it at the state level.

TALARICO: Yeah. And so I've passed 60 bipartisan bills through the Texas legislature. And these are not, you know, nibble around the edges incremental bills. I mean, I passed the largest early childhood education bill in our state's history. I passed the first ever cap on insulin copays in our state, passed a major reform to our justice system, allowing incarcerated minors to earn a high school diploma. So these are major bills that are making a real impact on Texans. 

And I think the key, you know, my faith is, is central in my life, it's central in my public service. And there's a teaching from my tradition to love your enemies. 

And it's a - it's become kind of cliche, but it really is a radical teaching. One, it acknowledges that you're going to have opponents, right? I mean, if you're trying to do right by your neighbors, if you're trying to speak truth to power, you're going to run into some resistance, some people who disagree with you, but you're called to love those opponents, those enemies, just as much as you love the people you're fighting for. 

And so in the state legislature, like I've been able to form real friendships, real relationships with my Republican colleagues, and we're fighting, you know, one day tooth and nail, you know, I if you see me on the on the back of my - in the well of the state house, I have no problem going toe to toe when I need to. But then the next day, we may find a piece of common ground that we can actually get something done on and. And I'm always going to seize that common ground whenever I can.

And so, we're told that it's a choice between people who fight and people who get things done. I think the people of Texas deserve a senator who can do both. And I've shown in the state house that I can do both.

MADDOW: One of the things that, I find it personally most challenging, to be empathetic about or, like, you're talking about love your enemy. 

One of the things that I just, I have a real hard time getting over and just thinking about, in a way that doesn't get me personally exorcised is when people use political power to make sure that other people can't vote. 

TALARICO: Yes. 

MADDOW: When you are using the prerogatives of your control of the state or your control of the federal government, whatever it is, to make sure that you can't be ousted. 

TALARICO: That's right. 

MADDOW: And, one of the things that I always, kind of, lecture people about when I'm hearing them - when I'm hearing Democrats get too optimistic about Texas, is that Texas has the second lowest voter turnout in the country. And it's not because Texans are apathetic, it's because it's really hard to vote in Texas. 

TALARICO: That's right. 

MADDOW: Texas Republicans have systematically attacked the franchise so that, you know, you can't - there's, not only is there no same day voter registration, there's no online voter registration, there's no automatic voter registration, like when you get driver's license or something. 

And it's - and plus there's all of this, not just fear mongering, but threatening people around these, these, sort of, phantoms of voter fraud. 

I don't know how you both compete for people's votes and constructively and empathetically compete with the people who are taking those votes away from your constituents and their own.

TALARICO: Yeah. It's why attacks on voting rights is a red line for me, and it should be a red line for all of us, right? We can disagree on all kinds of issues, issues of moral importance, issues of life and death. 

But the key is that we always have a shot in the next election to make our case to the people and, and get a shot at winning political power. 

And attacks on voting rights, this redistricting power grab, those are attempts to rig the rules of the game so that we don't have a shot at making our case to the people in the next election. 

And so, it's why a year ago - a year ago today, my colleagues and I in the state house broke quorum to shine a national spotlight on this redistricting power grab. I mean, that's an extraordinary step, right? 

I mean, we have to love democracy even when we lose. And the people of Texas, at least at a statewide level, have voted for Republicans historically, at least over the last 30 years. And when you break quorum, you are disrupting representative democracy. But it is a tool in our constitution and our state, because it's an important check on the abuses of the majority.

And when you manufacture the lines of a district to guarantee a certain outcome, you are robbing our neighbors of their God-given rights at the ballot box. And I say God-given intentionally not - you know, it doesn't matter if you're religious or not, but I think we can all agree that these rights don't come from politicians. They are inherent to us as human beings, as citizens of this country. 

And when you are robbing someone of those God-given rights, you're robbing them of their ability to shape their own destiny, for us as a community, as a state, to shape our own destiny.

MADDOW: Do you think there's a way to turn it back, though? I mean, I agree with your critique of what's wrong--

TALARICO: No.

MADDOW: --about it, but I don't see any U-turns ahead, either in Texas or federally, it's even worse.

Here's where we disagree, because you mentioned that this is LBJ's Senate seat. And if we win this seat in Texas of all places, I think we can build the political will to restore the Voting Rights Act, which was signed into law by Lyndon Johnson. And so it's only appropriate that winning his seat could be the key in restoring federal voting rights protections for all Americans, banning gerrymandering in every state, blue states and red states alike, so that we can truly have free and fair elections in every community.

(...)

9:30:21

MADDOW: Critics have argued that one of the things that makes you unelectable in Texas, is a reason that you can't win in Texas, is because you have, been empathetic toward and voiced support for trans people, that you have not been willing to join in in the demonization of trans people that motivates so many candidates right now and that the Republican party has relied on so heavily in general election campaigns. What's your response to that?

TALARICO: I mean, I don't think we win by selling people out. And we're refusing to do that in this campaign. This is a campaign of, by, and for all Texans. 

And I think people are really tired of these culture war fights that are designed to tear us apart, designed to get us angry. 

I mean, there are difficult issues - trying to figure out trans athletes in sports. That's an issue where we could actually come to a policy solution. 

But instead, politicians like Ken Paxton use those difficult issues to rile people up, to divide us, to distract us, in order to win power for themselves. I mean, it's divide and conquer. It's the oldest strategy in the world. 

And so what we're trying to do in this campaign is bring people together. I've said that the most radical thing you can do in an era of division is unite people. And we're not going to win with the politics of division. We can't win that game. We have to change the game. And I think what's exciting about this campaign is so many people are hungry for that kind of politics of union and of friendship, of love. And people have been so starved of it for so long now. I mean, we've seen what a politics of fear looks like, we've seen what a politics of anger and rage looks like. But it's been a while since politics has made us feel hopeful or excited about the future, or brings us together and creates community. And I think that's what we're building in Texas in this election.

Well, you had a, you know, very difficult, very hard-fought primary to get this nomination against congresswoman Jasmine Crockett. And that was a very racially striated result. She had a lot of support from black Texans. And you did not. 

I mean, Texas has more African-American residents than any other state in the country.

TALARICO: That's right.

MADDOW: Black Democrats are absolutely the backbone of the Texas state Democratic Party. 

What are you doing to repair any remaining bitterness from that campaign to reach black Texans, to convince them that you're their candidate, too?

TALARICO: Yeah. I want to pick up on something you just said. When I win this seat as the next U.S. Senator from Texas, I'll represent the most African Americans of any senator in the state - in the country. And that work of representing black Texans starts now. It doesn't start the day after the election. 

And so, I've been traveling the whole state. I've been convening private conversations with black business leaders and elected officials and community leaders and faith leaders. I've been visiting black churches and black owned businesses, appearing on black media throughout the state, particularly our local, you know, Dallas Weekly and Houston Defender, but also podcasts and YouTube shows where, you know, folks are now getting their information and their news. And I've been rolling out policy proposals based on all these conversations that can meet the needs of black Texans. 

Obviously, there are issues that we all face, right? The rising cost of groceries and gas and housing and child care and prescription drugs. 

And then there are issues that black Texans face uniquely. And you think about the maternal mortality crisis in our state that is three times deadlier for black women. Harris county, home to Houston, is the deadliest place for a black woman to give birth in the entire country. And so, we've rolled out a comprehensive plan to combat that crisis. 

We've been visiting our HBCUs. We did a town hall at Prairie View and then gave the commencement address at Paul Quinn College in Dallas, the oldest HBCU. We've been talking about how to bring HBCU funding up to parity because there's a gap in funding between our historically black colleges and universities and similar institutions with a similar percentage of low income students. And imagine if we actually close that gap, what our HBSUs in Texas could do? 

And then, we already talked about voting rights. I mean, we have seen the most aggressive attack on black political power since Jim Crow, gutting of the Voting Rights Act, these racist redistricting maps. And I think the first thing that we have to do, to your point earlier, when we win a senate majority, our first priority before we get to housing and health care and education, has to be passing the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and guaranteeing that all of our neighbors, particularly our black and brown neighbors, can access their God-given rights at the ballot box.

(...)

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