Democrat U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico is facing criticism from black Democrats over his campaign’s outreach efforts after a contentious Houston town hall Sunday.
One day later, during a town hall in DeSoto, Talarico defended government efforts to “repair past harms” against black Americans when asked whether he supports reparations and voiced support for the George Floyd Act.
The criticism comes as Talarico continues working to unite Democrats following his primary victory over U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett. Crockett has declined to campaign alongside Talarico and previously described the Senate race as a “racist race.”
At a Houston town hall Sunday, Talarico faced pointed questions from black Democrats who argued his campaign has failed to adequately engage black voters. In response, Talarico pledged to spend $25 million on black voter outreach.
The promise has done little to satisfy some critics.
“Talarico is giving out money to white GOTV organizations and white infrastructure and Hispanic infrastructure, but he’s not giving it to black infrastructure,” State Rep. Jolanda Jones said in an interview earlier this month.
“Talarico needs to pay for us to get our voters out. Only then does Talarico have a chance to win.”
Following Talarico’s pledge on Sunday, Jones maintained that he has been “unwilling” to listen to black Democrats and has thus far declined to endorse him.
The following day, during a town hall in DeSoto, one attendee asked Talarico whether he supports reparations and whether he would support legislation addressing crimes committed against black Americans.
Rather than directly answering whether he supports reparations, Talarico said “repairing past harms” was part of his faith tradition and argued government should invest in black communities through policies including tuition relief, homeownership grants, and “baby bonds” to build generational wealth.
“We have to correct the injustices of our past,” Talarico said, adding that society must commit to “restoring our black communities” and “repair those past harms.”
Later he lamented that the Texas Legislature failed to pass legislation limiting police powers.
“We failed to pass the George Floyd Act, which would have been transformational in ensuring that police officers are actually protecting and serving all of us,” Talarico said. He added that he hopes a Democratic Senate majority would allow Congress to pass similar federal legislation.
The Texas George Floyd Act proposed a series of policing reforms following Floyd’s death, including restrictions on qualified immunity, limitations on use-of-force defenses, a duty for officers to intervene, and expanded reporting requirements for law enforcement. The legislation failed to advance during the 2021 legislative session.
A request for clarification on whether Talarico considers his position to be support for reparations was not immediately returned.
