What would Jesus do? The liberal Christian aiming to restore faith to Texan Democrats

After 30 years of hurt, the party is praying James Talarico can turn the Lone Star state blue, as well as upend the right’s claim to the religious high ground.

- Hugh Tomlinson meets him in Corpus Christi

James Talarico preaches at the Central Presbyterian church in Austin, Texas, in December.

(Alamy)

In a county that Donald Trump confidently won by 12 points on his march back to the White House in 2024, hundreds of curious Texans defied the bitter cold and crammed into a hotel ballroom last week to see the young man hailed as a Democratic saviour in the Lone Star state.

James Talarico, who is running to topple the veteran Republican senator John Cornyn, is not your ordinary Democrat. The 36-year-old state politician with the choirboy countenance of a young Ron Howard sports black cowboy boots and drives a Chevy Colorado pickup. A former middle-school teacher, he now combines his political career with training to be a Presbyterian minister.

While Trump and his Maga movement have draped themselves in an aggressive brand of Christian nationalism, Talarico uses Bible verse in support of pro-choice abortion policies, gay marriage and progressive healthcare and tax systems. At ease on social media, with 1.5 million followers on TikTok, that liberal Christian populism has singled him out as a rising star who could challenge the GOP’s assumed monopoly on faith.

“My concern is the members of Congress who are quoting scripture and then violating the teachings of Jesus every day — who are not feeding the hungry, not healing the sick, not welcoming the stranger,” Talarico told The Observer after last week’s town hall in the port town of Corpus Christi in Nueces county.

“We need more legislators who are going to act like Jesus, whether they're Christians or not... We need those values in our political discourse again.”