Recordings Describe Talarico as More Progressive Than His Pitch

O’Keefe Media Group released undercover recordings on November 2 featuring three Texas Democratic figures who described James Talarico as more progressive privately than his campaign presentation suggested. The release came one day before the state’s Senate election; Decision Desk HQ later projected that Talarico defeated Republican Ken Paxton. The recordings feature Kim Collins Gilby, chair of the Williamson County Democratic Party; Matt Menard, identified in the footage as the father of Talarico’s girlfriend; and Andhi Beltran Garcia, a regional Democratic organizer. Their comments address Talarico’s positions on border security, immigration, abortion and transgender health care for minors. Gilby described Talarico’s centrist presentation as an electoral strategy, saying he was very liberal and that Democrats needed to win elections to advance their priorities. She also characterized comments Talarico made about transgender surgeries for minors at a CNN town hall as an effort to appear more centrist to Texas voters. Menard urged the undercover journalist not to put much weight on Talarico’s public comments about border security. He described the candidate as progressive and...