Texas Democratic Senate contender James Talarico allegedly told a rival that he would be a superior Senate candidate “because he doesn’t have a family,” according to former Rep. Colin Allred, D-Texas.
During a Tuesday appearance on the “At Our Table” podcast, Allred told host Jamie Harrison that Talarico made the comment to him in private before the two were slated to face off for Texas’ Senate seat, which never came to fruition after Allred ended his campaign in early December. Allred is currently campaigning for Texas’ newly redrawn 33rd District in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
“He’s said some things to me that I don’t like. He said to me before he got into the race that he thought that he would be a better candidate because he doesn’t have a family, and that… he could spend more time campaigning,” Allred said. “As you know, Jaime, like I didn’t know my dad, so I’m like all about being a father to my two boys, right? I was like, no, no, no, I run because of my family.”
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The feud between Allred and Talarico moved into the public spotlight last week after Morgan Thompson, a political influencer who posts on TikTok under the username @morga_tt, claimed that Talarico referred to Allred in private as a “mediocre Black man.”
Thompson recounted her private conversation with Talarico at one of his rallies in Plano last month. In the video, she said she had supported Talarico since he announced his bid for Senate, which was the reason she met with him at the rally.
“James Talarico told me that he signed up to run against a mediocre Black man, not a formidable and intelligent Black woman,” Thompson said, adding that she was now supporting Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, in the Texas Senate race.
In response, Allred — who lost the 2024 race to Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas — posted a video on X criticizing Talarico.
“Let me give you some free advice, James,” he said in the video. “If you want to compliment a Black woman, just do it. Just do it. Don’t do it while also tearing down a Black man, OK. We’ve seen that play before; we’re sick and tired of it.”
Later on in his response, Allred endorsed Crockett and asserted that Talarico shouldn’t be the Democratic nominee.
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Speaking to CBS News on Monday, the former representative called on Talarico to apologize for the alleged comments.
“I think there needs to be an apology either way; an apology and some attempt to recognize that there are certain things, whether the full intent was intended or not, that it came across in a way that was offensive to that young woman and to many others,” Allred told the outlet.
Allred also addressed Talarico’s alleged remarks during his Tuesday podcast appearance. He said the woman had no “reason to make it up” when Harrison asked if he thought Talarico had made the alleged remark.
“Going back to the TikTok comment, you know, listen, I kind of laughed, of course,” he told the host. “We’re always feeling like, OK, you know, ‘We got to jump twice as high. We got to run twice as fast,’ but I just laugh because, you know, I don’t have to defend what I’ve done in my life to say I’m not mediocre. I do think that there’s often, you know, a bit of confession when you make an accusation.”
He went on to describe a conversation he had the night before with friends about Talarico’s alleged comments.
“I was talking with some of my friends about it last night because they saw it, and they texted me, a couple of my Black friends from the Obama administration. It was like, you know, listen, if you want to compliment a Black woman, just do that,” Allred recalled.
“Don’t put down a Black man at the same time, right? Like, we’re tired of this kind of, like, veiled criticism of Black men. You know, veiling it in a compliment or appeal to Black women. No, don’t do that, right?” he added.
Following the controversy surrounding his alleged comments, Talarico released a statement: “This is a mischaracterization of a private conversation. In my praise of Congresswoman Crockett, I described Congressman Allred’s method of campaigning as mediocre — but his life and service are not. I would never attack him on the basis of race. As a Black man in America, Congressman Allred has had to work twice as hard to get where he is. I understand how my critique of the Congressman’s campaign could be interpreted given this country’s painful legacy of racism, and I care deeply about the impact my words have on others.”
“I have always said that, despite our disagreements, I respect Congressman Allred. We’re all on the same team,” the statement concluded.
Talarico did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
Whoever emerges the victor in the Demoratic primary will face an uphill battle in the general election. Texas hasn’t elected a Democrat to statewide office in decades, and President Donald Trump carried the state by nearly 14 points in 2024.
Fox News’ Rachel Wolf contributed to this report.
