Texas Senate Nominee Defends Past Remarks on Police Funding
James Talarico's campaign states his 2020 comments were taken out of context and that he supports law enforcement.
Texas Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico is facing scrutiny after video resurfaced of him discussing the "defund the police" movement in 2020. His campaign has stated the comments were taken out of context and that he does not support defunding the police.
Talarico made the remarks during a virtual discussion with Texas Rising, a progressive youth activist group, amid national protests and debate over policing following the death of George Floyd. At the time, Talarico, an educator, stated it was "rich" for the idea of defunding police to be considered "off-limits" in political discussions, particularly when other public services like health and education had faced funding cuts for decades.
In a separate interview with Honest Austin in September 2020, Talarico reportedly said, "Our system of policing is deeply broken. We must replace it with something new and something better." He also questioned the necessity of armed officers responding to every emergency.
Talarico's campaign spokesperson, JT Ennis, told Fox News Digital that Talarico never called for or supported defunding the police and "strongly supports Texas law enforcement and first responders." Ennis characterized Talarico's 2020 remarks as a critique of political hypocrisy, arguing that politicians who condemn the "defund the police" slogan often support cuts to other public services. The campaign asserted Talarico's stance is that essential government services, including law enforcement, should be adequately funded.
Ennis highlighted Talarico's legislative record, stating he has voted to allocate billions of dollars to local law enforcement. Additionally, Talarico has advocated for increased mental health resources, suggesting that counselors, rather than police officers, should handle mental health emergencies. "That’s why James has voted to send billions of dollars to local law enforcement, in addition to advocating for better-funded mental health resources so that cops don’t have to respond to mental health emergencies that could be handled by a counselor," Ennis said.
The campaign also accused Talarico's Republican opponent, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, and his allies of misrepresenting Talarico's comments to divert attention from Paxton's own record. The campaign specifically cited Paxton's office's handling of a case involving a former Waco attorney charged with sexual abuse of a minor, which resulted in a plea agreement to misdemeanor charges. The campaign has previously criticized this deal as an "Epstein style sweetheart deal."