Texas Senate candidate James Talarico’s campaign roiled as he denies referring to ex-rival as ‘mediocre Black man’

(CNN) — With now just a month to go until Election Day, the Democratic primary for US Senate in Texas has become so fraught that a TikToker’s accusations have roiled the race and prompted a major endorsement in the backlash.

The incident started Sunday night when Morgan Thompson posted a video recounting what she says was a comment Texas state Rep. James Talarico made to her in a private conversation in January: that he called his onetime opponent, former US Rep. Colin Allred, a “mediocre Black man.”

Talarico’s campaign released a statement from the candidate on Monday calling Thompson’s claims “a mischaracterization of a private conversation,” going on to explain, “I described Congressman Allred’s method of campaigning as mediocre — but his life and service are not.” Thompson acknowledged that she didn’t have a recording and that they had previously agreed to treat their conversation as off the record.

But the accusation slammed Talarico’s campaign on Monday, sending aides into a flurry and prompting Allred — who dropped out of the Senate race when Rep. Jasmine Crockett decided to make a last-minute entry — to endorse her in the intense race, despite frustrations he had in December that she had chased him out of the race by getting in. It also renewed the questions about identity politics and electability that have riven the primary and the Democratic Party more broadly.

Thompson alleges that Talarico, who is White, said: “I signed up to run against a mediocre Black man, not a formidable, intelligent Black woman.”

Talarico, in his statement denying the exact wording as Thompson relayed it, said, “I understand how my critique of the Congressman’s campaign could be interpreted given this country’s painful legacy of racism, and I care deeply about the impact my words have on others.”

In an interview on Monday evening, Allred told CNN he felt the campaign’s statement is “an admission that he said what he said,” and expressed surprise that he hadn’t heard from Talarico directly.

“I responded not just on my behalf, but on behalf of Black candidates around the country that even if you run six points ahead of your presidential candidate, you’re still called ‘mediocre,’” Allred said, referring to his results in the 2024 Senate race as compared to Kamala Harris in the state. (Allred outperformed Harris by about five points.)

What Talarico is accused of saying

Thompson told CNN that she had been turned on to Talarico’s campaign by a friend last fall and preferred him over Allred. After attending an event of his in Dallas, she started using her social media following to boost him. Talarico’s staff reached out about her video from the rally, she said, and was soon feeding her information like fundraising numbers and clips from his “Jubilee” online debate to help.

“It was like a symbiotic kind of thing. I wasn’t paid by the campaign at all,” Thompson said, though, “I was in constant communication with the campaign.”

Thompson said the relationship started to break down after she got a fundraising text for Talarico, signed by the Democratic strategist James Carville, who has been urging Democrats to start moving away from identity politics. Thompson said she saw that as an implicit critique of Black women, and that when she raised her frustrations with the campaign, an aide offered her to have a conversation with Talarico — either on camera for her to post, or “off the record,” as what was meant to be a private conversation.

She says she opted for the less formal conversation, without a recording. But she says she remembers the exchange, which took place backstage before a town hall in Plano on January 12, very well. Thompson said she raised concerns about the association with Carville and suggested that maybe he was chasing a big name, prompting Talarico to say, “So you’re concerned about me being a sell out?” She said she told him he was overlooking the racial dynamics he’d tipped into, prompting him to say, “I have blind spots.”

Campaign spokesman JT Ennis confirmed the association with Thompson — “the Talarico campaign works with lots of creators in Texas to keep them updated on the campaign,” he said — and that they did speak before the Plano event. But Ennis told CNN Talarico does not recall making either of those statements, and that his version was backed up by an aide whom both said was in the room but was not made available for an interview.

The conversation turned, Thompson said, when she mentioned to Talarico online chatter she was seeing from people wishing he had run for governor instead — an option he had considered before launching the Senate run and was urged to reconsider when Crockett jumped into the race late.

“That is when he said, ‘I signed up to run against a mediocre black man, not a formidable, intelligent Black woman,’” Thompson said, “That is a direct quote.”

Thompson also accused Talarico’s campaign of trying to silence her, claiming that her Instagram account had disappeared and her Threads account had been suspended within minutes of when she posted a video about her claims. Thompson does not know how this would have happened, she acknowledged, given that no one on the campaign has her password, but “It’s just too many factors in play. It’s just too many abnormalities. The timing of it was so fast.”

As for Thompson’s claims about the social media accounts being closed, Ennis said, “No. We do not have that kind of power, nor would we ever do that.”

How Allred responded

Shortly after Thompson’s video went viral, Allred posted his own video ripping Talarico.

“Let me just give you some free advice, James,” Allred said. “If you want to compliment Black women, just do it. Just do it. Don’t do it while also tearing down a Black man.”

He also suggested Talarico, a Presbyterian seminarian, was getting unfair attention for his discussion on the campaign trail of Christianity and how Democrats can make inroads with religious voters.

“We don’t need you,” he said. “You’re not saying anything unique. You’re just saying it looking like you do.”

The Senate primary is March 3. Allred is also on the ballot that day, in a House primary against Rep. Julie Johnson that he entered after leaving the Senate race.

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