Now that he’s going to have to go after some moderate and even conservative votes in Texas, Democratic US Senate candidate James Talarico is actively distancing himself from some of the far-left social advocacy of his past.
But with a seemingly endless supply of woke quotes to expose, it might be too late for him to shed a reputation for being everything from pro-trans to anti-White.
Both of those characteristics collided during one interview Talarico participated in a few years ago.
And the National Republican Senatorial Committee recently highlighted a New York Post report about the clip in a press release:
Texas Democratic Senate hopeful James Talarico once lavished praise on a self-described “TransQueer, Latinx” activist theologian as a major source of inspiration for his left-wing philosophy.
“When you started following me on Twitter, I couldn’t contain my inner fan boy, because I read your book last year and it continues to inspire me and y’all’s work continues to inspire me,” the state lawmaker told Roberto Henderson-Espinoza during a March 2021 podcast appearance.
“I told you I was a boring, straight, cis white man, and I added ‘Presbyterian’ to spice it up,” Talarico added. “My imagination is also just limited by my own background and identity.”
“My whiteness, my masculinity, all those things limit my imagination about what’s possible,” he went on. “And that’s where … your book helps me do that.”
Henderson-Espinoza, a PhD scholar, uses He/They pronouns and self-describes as Mestizaje (mixed race), autistic, non-binary, transgender, and Latinx.
The book Talarico referred to was Henderson-Espinoza’s “Activist Theology,” published in 2019, which lays out a brand of progressive religious values aimed at fighting “interlocking supremacies.”
Social media users made sure the clip spread even further:
Texans would rather look at his policies ( open borders, trans mutilation surgery, boys in girls sports, higher taxes, silly green energy rules, etc) but it’s hard to get past his incredibly weird positions on Christ and the bible. He’s also a girlie man.
— Michael A (@gmatex43) June 23, 2026
It's like some wierd fever dream crazy artsy movie idea. Where do these people get like this,how have they survived this long? We have enabled the weak to live off of us for too long, and they believe they are big boys now.
— old man (@NH3reftech) June 22, 2026
Then he is not qualified for US senate. He is limited in his dreaming cause he is white and male.
— MHosea (@MHosea16) June 22, 2026
Here’s what the Post Millennial added about Espinoza:
She is the founder of The Activist Theology Project and describes herself as a liberationist theologian focused on queer theory, ethics, and social justice. Her academic work includes a 2022 TEDx talk challenging René Descartes’ mind-body dualism.
Born in Texas and raised in a bicultural household, Espinoza attended Hardin-Simmons University before earning a master’s degree from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary and a Ph.D. from the University of Denver, specializing in constructive theology, queer theory, and Latinx studies.
She has taught at Vanderbilt, Chicago Theological Seminary, and other institutions, and authored Activist Theology (2019) and A Path to Our Liberation (2022). She has argued that Christianity should prioritize relationships over doctrine, and rejected mainstream progressive Christianity as insufficiently radical, per Juicy Ecumenism.
Talarico’s unconventional comments on religion, including his 2021 “God is non-binary” comments, have provided red meat for his Republican opponent Ken Paxton. Talarico has yet to win the endorsement of outgoing House Rep. Jasmine Crockett, against who he ran in the Democrat Senate primary.
Here are some other recent bombshells about the unorthodox view of Christianity held by Talarico and his church:
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