Talarico Proves He Really Is A Weirdo

Looks like the campaign for Texas Democrat Senate nominee James Talarico has finally realized it has a serious problem on its hands.

After Tuesday’s runoff primary in Texas, the campaign suddenly shifted into overdrive trying to clean up Talarico’s public image and smooth over years of bizarre comments and awkward political branding. The issue is that none of this is new. The comments have been out there for a long time, voters have already seen them, and they’ve already shaped how many Texans view him.

Even President Donald Trump recently mocked Talarico over some of the strange clips circulating online and handed him a nickname that immediately stuck.

Then came the latest attempt at damage control.

After social media users laughed at earlier campaign photos and joked that Talarico didn’t exactly look ready to “take back Texas,” Democrats rolled out another carefully staged image. This time, he was wearing a Texas flag-themed shirt while chewing on a beef rib, apparently trying to prove he’s relatable and culturally in sync with Texas voters.

The whole thing felt less authentic and more like a political focus group project.

Even former Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger, who has spent years criticizing Trump and distancing himself from the GOP, could see how badly the effort was landing. Responding online, Kinzinger wrote, “No offense but you guys need new social media folks.”

That probably wasn’t the endorsement the campaign was hoping for.

Talarico also sat down for an interview with CBS News senior political correspondent Ed O’Keefe, where he attempted to walk back some of what he called his past “cringey comments.” The problem is that there are so many controversial clips and statements floating around that it’s hard to know which ones he even meant.

And generally speaking, once a candidate starts explaining and reinterpreting years of old statements this early in a campaign, it’s because the campaign knows those statements are becoming politically damaging.