Colin Allred blasts Senate hopeful James Talarico over alleged 'mediocre' comment

DALLAS - A dispute over alleged racial comments could impact voter preferences in the upcoming Democratic Senate primary.

Allred on Talarico's alleged racial remarks

What we know:

On Monday afternoon, former congressman Colin Allred blasted Senate candidate James Talarico for comments the senate hopeful reportedly said about his Black former political opponent.

"I understand that James Talarico had the temerity and audacity to say to a Black woman that he had signed up to run against a mediocre black man, meaning me," Allred said in a social media video.

"This man should not be our nominee for Senate. I was not going to get involved in this race, but don't come for me unless I send for you, OK James?  And keep my name out of your mouth."

That last 24 hours had been consumed with Allred alleging that James Talarico called him a mediocre Black man. 

Talarico’s claims from a TikTok influencer

Dig deeper:

TikTok influencer Morgan Thompson laid out the claims from a private conversation she had with Talarico last month, saying he told her he signed up to run against "a mediocre Black man," referring to Allred, and "not a formidable, intelligent Black woman" referring to his current opponent, Jasmine Crockett. 

Allred dropped his senate bid in December as Crockett prepared to enter the race.

Hours after Allred’s scathing response, Talarico released a statement not outright denying the claims but calling them a mischaracterization of what he said. 

Talarico spoke about his political opponent, along with other issues concerning Texans, in a recent episode of Battleground Texas. 

The impact on the Texas Democratic Senate Primary

Local perspective:

This brush-up has brought racial tension front and center. FOX 4 spoke to Rice University political scientist Mark Jones about the optics of this drama. 

"It's a potential problem for Talarico if he wins this race, but he is seen as winning this race by disrespecting African American candidates and voters, because at the end of the day, Talarico needs very strong Black turnout in November 2026. If he's going to have any hope of defeating his Republican rival," said Jones.

Recent polls show a large majority of Black Democratic voters are likely to vote for Crockett, who currently represents the Dallas area in congress. 

Talarico, a state rep from Austin, has polled well with Hispanics and white men.

"When Talarico supporters use the terms electability vis-à-vis Crockett, they are implying that a Black woman would be a less successful candidate than a white man. Now the Talarico supporters would probably say that, in addition to being a Black woman, Jasmine Crockett has many other characteristics that may make her less electable than Talarico," said Jones.

GOP strategy for Crockett vs. Talarico

Big picture view:

Multiple Republican lawmakers have been promoting the Allred video as well to stoke the flames. 

Jones says there are two points to that. 

"I do think the majority of Republicans believe that they would have an easier time against Jasmine Crockett in the fall than Talarico. But the other is to set the stage for a fall where Talarico was the candidate and to create a narrative that he got there by disrespecting African-American politicians such as Colin Allred and defeating one, Jasmine Crockett," he said.

Awaiting candidate response

What's next:

FOX 4’s Steven Dial reached out to the Talarico campaign to see if he would be available for an interview and is still waiting to hear back. FOX 4 also reached out to the Allred campaign, and they said he was not available today.