Texas Democrat James Talarico has built his brand railing against big money in politics, but new revelations prove a very different reality. Despite campaigning to “get megadonor cash out of elections,” records show his largest 2024 contribution came from a Trump-backing billionaire’s PAC.
Talarico accepted $59,000 from casino mogul Miriam Adelson’s Texas Sands PAC, making the group his biggest donor last year. Adelson, the widow of longtime Republican megadonor Sheldon Adelson, is a well-known GOP powerhouse. The contribution undermines Talarico’s anti-donor rhetoric and highlights glaring inconsistencies in his campaign message.
His office quickly tried to spin the revelations. “He will not unilaterally disarm and let Texas Republicans play by different rules,” spokesman Antonio Esparza told Politico. Talarico himself has long postured as a reformer, even filing legislation to cap campaign donations at $10,000—a cap that doesn’t exist under current Texas law.
But just months before cashing Adelson’s checks, Talarico blasted Republicans on the “Joe Rogan Experience,” claiming, “Basically every single Republican state senator in Texas has taken their money. Every single one. A majority of the Republicans in the State House have taken their money. They increasingly run this whole government here in Texas.”
The hypocrisy is obvious: while railing against Republicans for cozying up to billionaires, Talarico quietly does the same when it suits his political ambitions. As Esparza admitted, “Rep. Talarico believes our campaign finance system is deeply broken.” Texans may agree—but his actions show he’s not interested in fixing it, only exploiting it.
