James Talarico's progressive take on Christianity made him an online sensation.Will it translate to his Texas Senate bid

The Austin lawmaker says his faith fuels his vision of a Democratic Party that “fights back” against billionaires. Republican critics say his stances are at odds with Scripture.

By Kayla Guo
Sept. 16, 2025
5 AM Central

About 20 minutes into his appearance on Joe Rogan’s podcast, Texas Rep. James Talarico started making his case that the Bible sanctions abortion.

In the Book of Luke, the Austin Democrat noted, Mary has a vision from God that she’s going to give birth to a baby who will bring down the powerful from their thrones. But, critically, before she becomes pregnant, Talarico said, an angel “asks Mary if this is something she wants to do, and she says, ‘if it is God’s will, let it be done.’”

“To me, that is an affirmation in one of our most central stories that creation has to be done with consent. You cannot force someone to create,” Talarico, an aspiring Presbyterian minister and U.S. senator, told Rogan, arguing “the idea that there is a set Christian orthodoxy on the issue of abortion is just not rooted in Scripture.”

He went on to accuse the religious right of prioritizing abortion bans and “control” of pregnant mothers, rather than reducing miscarriages and protecting children through expanded health care access.
https://www.texastribune.org/2025/09/16/james-talarico-texas-senate-democrat-religion-christianity-viral/