Talarico in 2020: Capitalism Is White Supremacy and Texas Oil Is Kinda Racist

As a Texan, James Talarico makes a pretty good … Californian. Politically speaking, Talarico’s appeal would be even more limited to the Berkeley/San Francisco/Hollywood version of California. And now that the general-election season has kicked off more or less officially, Ken Paxton and the GOP want to make sure everyone in the Lone Star State understands just how poorly Talarico fits. 

Paxton and his allies have had months to dig up examples of Talarico’s radical positions. Today’s reveal comes from CNN’s K-Files, however, where Andrew Kaczynski works tirelessly to dig up nuggets such as this video from 2020. Talarico had a Zoom meeting with hard-Left environmentalists and insisted that capitalism was connected to “white supremacy,” and pledged to phase out Texas oil since climate change was connected to racism:

In a private Zoom meeting with Austin Sierra Club activists, James talarico says capitalism is an oppressive system he wants to dismantle:

“I’m … thankful that young activists have really drawn the link between climate change and white supremacy and capitalism in our country.… pic.twitter.com/sPDDXg6l5q

— Lone Star Liberty PAC (@LoneStar_PAC) September 1, 2026

Six years before becoming Texas Democrats’ US Senate nominee, James Talarico described capitalism as an “oppressive system” during a Sierra Club event, grouping it with White supremacy and climate change and saying ending the ways all three worked together was necessary to begin the process of “dismantling them.”

During the Sierra Club event from September 2020, Talarico participated in a virtual climate candidate forum in which he also compared Texas’ leadership in the oil and gas industry to “being the leader in cassette tapes in the 1980s,” declaring “that industry is not gonna last.”

Lest anyone mistake Talarico’s “cassette tapes” comment as simply a bad commodities bet, pay attention to the context. Talarico explicitly tied climate change to white supremacy as part of the discussion of the Texas oil industry. He’s not offering commodities investment advice in this statement:

“I am so thankful that you asked this question and also thankful that young activists have really drawn the link between climate change and White supremacy and capitalism in our country,” Talarico said. “And I think only ending the ways that all three of those oppressive systems work together are we gonna be able to begin the process of dismantling them.”

Talarico wants to dismantle the oil industry in Texas and capitalism more generally as part of his campaign to “dismantle” white supremacy. Talarico went on to say that the oil industry would go the way of the eight-track tape, but that he wanted to accelerate that process:

“That industry is not gonna last. And if we wanna ensure we have an economy that’s gonna work for our children and our children’s children, we gotta be ahead of the curve and Texas has to lead instead of follow on this issue.”

That was just six years ago, when Talarico ran for the state legislative seat in Austin. And that position fits the Austin political scene well enough, especially in its more Academia-drenched, privileged-progressive districts. It most certainly does not fit the state of Texas, which is the problem Talarico will face in spades in the coming weeks. 

And the onslaught has now arrived, Politico reported yesterday and as I briefly mentioned in last night’s Final Word. Ken Paxton and his allies just launched their first full-scale ad campaign against Talarico, putting $15 million into the effort to expose Talarico as the callow radical he has been his entire career:

Two new ads from Lone Star Liberty PAC, the pro-Paxton super PAC, will air across 18 markets across Texas over the ensuing two weeks. They mark Paxton’s first significant foray on to the airwaves, jolting a campaign that has been clouded by concerns over Talarico’s massive cash advantage and Paxton’s electability.

One of the new ads will lean into Paxton’s record as attorney general, highlighting Texas’ recent agreement with Kellogg’s to remove certain food dyes from cereals and the state’s billion-dollar settlements with Meta and Google over privacy and safety concerns.

“When they come after Texans, he comes after them,” a voiceover says in the ad.

The other new advertisement accuses Talarico of aiding China’s growth at the expense of Texas residents, pointing to the Democrat’s vote against restrictions on Chinese investments, and argues that a Chinese billionaire’s ownership of land near Laughlin Air Force Base presents national security concerns.

“China’s got Talarico. Texas needs Ken Paxton,” the ad says.

“[James Talarico] voted to sell Texas land to China, pushed a Texas Green New Deal that would gut our oil and gas jobs, and stood with criminals over cops as the most pro-criminal member of the Texas House,” Lone Star Liberty spokesperson Sam Cooper said. “That record is too extreme for Texas. Between now and Election Day, voters are going to hear it.”

Just wait until campaign ads feature Talarico’s thoughts on capitalism and the state’s oil industry. That will be coming too, along with Talarico’s radical positions on abortion, and perhaps even Talarico’s foolish and uninformed remarks on the Karmelo Anthony case, which blew up last week in a hearing that forced a lot of Anthony’s previous crimes and bizarre behavior into the open. Talarico won’t have anywhere to hide, and while there may be some concerns about Paxton’s baggage, he’s won three statewide elections … and that’s three more than Talarico, or any other Texas Democrat in the past 32 years. 

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.

Help HotAir continue to report on the Democrats’ radicalism and inform voters as our nation faces a crossroads. Join HotAir VIP and use promo code FIGHT to receive 60% off your membership.