Every national election cycle features some candidates whose greatest opponents are themselves. Republicans of a certain age (mine) know all too well that we have endured our share of them. I've written on several occasions this year that the Democrats are so clinically insane that almost everything they do can be used against them in campaign material.
Getting into this year's midterm candidates, I think it's Texas Democrat James Talarico who is the biggest electoral threat to himself. I wrote in Wednesday's Morning Briefing that, "Talarico doesn't really do himself any favors on the campaign trail," and darned if the kid hasn't gone out of his way to prove me right. Let's check out a couple of examples before we get into the rest of it. The first is from my Twitchy colleague justmindy:
What does James talarico call women?
— Lone Star Liberty PAC (@LoneStar_PAC) May 28, 2026
"neighbors with a uterus" pic.twitter.com/aRO4nLi5GQ
Like I said, clinically insane. It is really difficult to listen to these people in their best moments, but Talarico seems like he is deliberately trying to make sane people respond, "Um, what?!?" to everything he says. Here's one I happened upon on X yesterday:
Almost every time he's on camera, Talarico provides material for Paxton campaign ads. Just let him keep not getting out of his own way. https://t.co/IC7Qtm1j57
— SFK (@stephenkruiser) May 28, 2026
I sincerely hope someone in the Paxton campaign reads this and takes it to heart. These aren't the only examples from the last two days, which is a pretty good indicator that they will keep on coming. Remember, Democrats aren't self-aware, which makes them incapable of embarrassment. Also, truly crazy people don't know that they are crazy.
What is happening with Talarico right now is nothing new in Texas. The "Turn Texas Blue" fantasy captures the imagination of Democrats nationwide. As we saw with Wendy Davis and Beto O'Rourke, a lot of money from outside of Texas pours into these campaigns. Like Davis and O'Rourke, Talarico is believing his own press too much and sucking up to the national audience. Because the Democrats' flying monkeys in the mainstream media are so heavily invested in dragging this lightweight across the finish line, he will continue to think it's a good idea to spout idiotic things that appeal more to coastal elitist Dems than Texans.
James Talarico is extremely popular with Democrats who won't be voting in Texas in November, despite people's fears about illegal aliens voting and other kinds of fraud. It's Texas, not California.
I am not discounting the fact that some Democrats in Texas like him; he did win his primary without needing a runoff, after all. However, he was running against Jasmine Crockett, the Queen of Toxicity whose biggest claim to leftist fame was shouting f-bombs in public when complaining about President Trump. Even the MSM wingnuts realized that a foul mouth wasn't the ticket to electability. While a net positive for the United States of America, dispatching Crockett wasn't exactly Buster Douglas knocking out Mike Tyson (Google it, young ones).
Nor am I stating unequivocally that Talarico can't win. Ken Paxton has some baggage and one can never rule out that some disgruntled John Cornyn supporters will sit out the midterms. Unlike Thomas Massie, Cornyn has been a grownup and very gracious in defeat. I don't see him sowing seeds of discontent between now and November. Also, Paxton's victory in the runoff was very decisive and there weren't as many Cornyn supporters as the Establishment GOP thought there were.
Just let Talarico keep playing to the woke coastal types who are more concerned with pronouns than whether Iran has nukes. If Paxton features a lot of that stuff in his campaign ads, even the most ardent Cornyn fans will probably find plenty of motivation to vote.
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Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
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