James Talarico, a Democratic candidate for the Texas Senate, has stirred controversy after it was disclosed that, during his time as a public school teacher in San Antonio, he assigned his sixth-grade students to create an “Obama memoir” reflecting on his election.
Cory DeAngelis, a researcher and advocate for school choice at the Heritage Foundation, suggested that this incident should disqualify Talarico from running for Senate in Texas.
On November 13, 2012, Talarico shared that his class had completed the memoir, describing it as a recounting of election night from a hypothetical perspective of someone in the Obama family. One student wrote about crying during a speech given by then-President Barack Obama, lauding the emotional impact of his words that night.
Democrats are optimistic about Talarico’s potential to flip a significant Senate seat and possibly become the first Democratic senator from Texas in a long time. However, his past remarks—like saying “God is non-binary” and using the Bible to justify abortion—have drawn scrutiny since he secured his party’s nomination.
In a Facebook post from November 16, 2012, Talarico highlighted a display of the students’ Obama memoirs, calling it “Mr. Talarico’s Wall of Fame.” The exhibit included multiple memoirs and images of Obama with a banner that read, “Our Wall of Honor has been updated with our amazing Obama family memoir!”
Besides the memoirs, Talarico has faced backlash for other classroom displays. A past post showed a “free thinker” exhibit that featured figures like Obama, Bill Gates, and Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, while notably excluding Republican figures.
In another post from September 4, 2012, Talarico encouraged his students to watch the Democratic National Convention, which led to further comments from critics. Conservative commentator Steve Guest questioned Talarico’s role as an educator in light of these actions, while the National Republican Senatorial Committee also expressed concern about what he might have taught students in the classroom.
A spokesperson for Talarico responded to the criticism, asserting that his campaign poses a threat to prominent Republicans like John Cornyn and Ken Paxton. Spokesman J.T. Ennis stated that their campaign focuses on shifting politics in Texas toward the needs of working people. Talarico is set to face either incumbent Sen. Cornyn or Attorney General Paxton in the upcoming November election, with both currently involved in a closely contested primary runoff that concludes in May.
