Reid Hoffman Bankrolling Texas Senate Candidate Talarico with $11.5M

Democrat James Talarico’s bid for the U.S. Senate is receiving significant financial backing from Reid Hoffman, a co-founder of LinkedIn and an associate of the late Jeffrey Epstein. Hoffman has contributed at least $11.5 million to the Lone Star Rising PAC, a Super PAC supporting Talarico’s campaign, according to Federal Election Commission filings.

Hoffman provided the majority of this funding with a $10 million donation in June, several months after Talarico secured victory in a competitive primary election. The Lone Star Rising PAC previously spent nearly $4.5 million opposing Talarico’s primary opponent, Rep. Jasmine Crockett, and is now focusing its efforts against Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton in the general election. Talarico aims to be the first Democrat elected to represent Texas in the Senate since 1988.

Talarico, 37, has been a vocal critic of Paxton, frequently referencing a plea deal secured by Paxton's office for Adam Dean Hoffman, a lawyer initially charged with sexual abuse of a minor. Talarico has described the deal as an "Epstein-style sweetheart deal," suggesting that wealthy and influential individuals can evade justice. He has called for the release of the "Hoffman Files," drawing a parallel to the public release of the "Epstein Files."

Epstein was awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges when he died by suicide in a Manhattan jail in August 2019. Hoffman's legal case involved a mistrial, after which he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor indecent assault and displaying harmful material to a minor. He received a 60-day sentence and was released after 29 days, without being required to register as a sex offender.

Documents released by the Department of Justice have shown Hoffman interacting with Epstein and discussing trips to Epstein's private island and other properties. In a September 2014 email, Hoffman wrote about Epstein's "exquisite taste in people." Other communications revealed Hoffman sending gifts to Epstein, including items for his island and ice cream "either for yourself or for ‘the girls.’" Hoffman's representatives later stated that "the girls" referred to adult members of Epstein's staff.

In August 2015, Epstein claimed in an email to have had a "wild" dinner with Hoffman and other prominent tech figures. Hoffman has previously stated that his interactions with Epstein were primarily for fundraising purposes for MIT, acknowledging regret for these associations. He also called for the release of information related to Epstein's victims.

In a July 2013 email, Epstein inquired about Hoffman's follow-up on his jail time. The recipient of the email, Joi Ito, who directed MIT's Media Lab at the time, replied that he had spoken with Epstein, who "doesn’t judge people."

The Texas Senate race is anticipated to be one of the most expensive of the election cycle. Talarico's campaign stated that it has no control over contributions to Super PACs, citing federal law prohibiting coordination between campaigns and outside entities. A spokesperson for Talarico’s campaign added that Talarico is committed to banning Super PACs and corporate PACs, alongside other reforms, while Paxton is perceived as working to benefit himself and his donors.

Recent polling data indicates Talarico leading Paxton by a narrow margin in the race for the Texas Senate seat.