距离德克萨斯州美国参议院选举的高风险初选只有一个月了，民主党人正在针锋相对，民主党众议员詹姆斯·塔拉里科(James Talarico)反驳了他对前对手的种族发表争议性言论的指控。
塔拉里科周一回应了前众议员科林·奥尔雷德(Colin Allred)的一段视频，他正在竞选德克萨斯州第33国会选区，声称塔拉里科在种族的基础上发表了批评奥尔雷德的言论。
周日，一名抖音创作者声称，塔拉里科在一次私人谈话中说，奥尔雷德是一个“平庸的黑人”，他宁愿与奥尔雷德竞选，而不是众议员贾斯敏·克罗克特，据称他称后者为“令人生畏的聪明的黑人女性”这位《抖音创造者》之前曾支持过塔拉里科，他发帖称，这次对话发生在1月份得克萨斯州普莱诺的一个市政厅之后。
塔拉里科的竞选团队告诉ABC新闻，这个人从来不是竞选团队的成员。塔拉里科没有否认对话的发生，但表示这是断章取义。
白人塔拉里科在美国参议院民主党初选中与克罗克特竞争。Allred此前宣布了参议院的投标，但退出了再次竞选众议院，称克罗克特的参赛促成了他的决定。
在X周一下午发布的一段视频中，Allred支持Crockett，并批评Talarico所谓的评论。
奥尔雷德声称，塔拉里科“鲁莽而大胆地对一名黑人女性说，他报名参加竞选的是一名‘平庸的黑人’，也就是我，而不是一名‘令人生畏的、聪明的黑人女性’，也就是贾斯敏·克罗克特。”
塔拉里科反驳了这些指控，称这些指控是“对私人谈话的错误描述”。
“在我对众议员克罗克特的赞扬中，我把众议员奥尔雷德的竞选方法描述为平庸——但他的生活和服务却不是。我绝不会以种族为由攻击他，”塔拉里科在他的发言人发布给X的一份声明中说。
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塔拉里科补充说，“鉴于这个国家痛苦的种族主义遗产”，他“理解”他的批评可能会被错误地理解，但强调了他对奥尔雷德的深切“尊重”。
克罗克特对这一消息做出了反应，感谢奥尔雷德的支持，并称赞他是“一个性情平和、有分寸、不斤斤计较的人”——尽管她显然没有批评她的对手，也没有提到他的名字。
“不幸的是，在黑人历史月开始时，这就是我们面临的情况。在前国会议员科林·奥尔雷德的视频中，他在沙地上画了一条线。克罗克特的发言人在给美国广播公司新闻的一份声明中说:“他明确表示，他没有把对他的攻击指控仅仅视为附近的又一天。”。
周一早些时候，塔拉里科出现在美国广播公司的“观点”节目中，强调了他对克罗克特的“深深的爱和尊重”，并表示如果她取代他成为民主党提名人，他将“百分之百”支持和帮助她。民主党提名人将在11月与现任共和党人约翰·科宁或他的主要挑战者之一对抗，包括得克萨斯州司法部长肯·帕克斯顿和众议员韦斯利·亨特。
虽然对塔拉里科的指控在他出现在“观点”上时没有被讨论，但他详细阐述了他的参议院竞选活动，呼吁改革移民和海关执法，并庆祝民主党最近在德克萨斯州的胜利。
针对周日从德克萨斯州拘留中心释放的5岁寻求庇护者利亚姆·拉莫斯(Liam Ramos)的消息，塔拉里科抨击了ICE目前采用的策略，然后要求对该机构进行彻底检查和重组。
“是时候解散这支秘密警察部队了，取而代之的是一个真正专注于公共安全的机构，”他在“观点”节目中说
尽管Talarico没有明确呼吁废除ICE，但他一再表示希望在维持边境安全的同时重新分配资金。
周末，民主党人在德克萨斯州参议院第9区取得了令人沮丧的胜利，民主党人泰勒·雷米特(Taylor Rehmet)击败了唐纳德·特朗普(Donald Trump)总统支持的共和党候选人利·万布斯甘斯(Leigh Wambsganss)，并翻转了可靠的红色席位。
当被问及他会做些什么来赢得雷米特已经转向的选民时，塔拉里科强调说，他“不会放弃任何选民”或“任何社区”。
“我伸出一只张开的手，而不是握紧的拳头，根据我的经验，如果你伸出那只张开的手，你会惊讶地发现是谁握住了它，”塔拉里科说。
Texas Senate primary candidate Talarico responds to allegations he called fellow Dem 'mediocre Black man'
With just one month until the high-stakes primary election in the Texas U.S. Senate race, Democrats are butting heads, with Democratic State Rep. James Talarico pushing back on allegations that he made controversial remarks about the race of his former opponent.
Talarico on Monday responded to a video from former Rep. Colin Allred, who is running for Texas' 33rd Congressional District, claiming that Talarico made comments critical of Allred on the basis of race.
On Sunday,a TikTok creatoralleged that Talarico, in a private conversation, said that Allred was a "mediocre Black man" and that he would would rather run against Allred than Rep. Jasmine Crockett, whom he allegedly called a "formidable and intelligent Black woman." The TikTok creator, who had previously supported Talarico, posted that the conversation happened after a town hall in Plano, Texas, in January.
Talarico's campaign told ABC News that the individual was never a member of the campaign team. Talarico has not denied the conversation took place, but has said it was taken out of context.
Talarico, who is white, is running against Crockett in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate. Allred had previously announced a Senate bid, but dropped out of the race to run for the House again, saying Crockett's entering of the race contributed to his decision.
In avideo posted on XMonday afternoon, Allred endorsed Crockett and criticized Talarico for his alleged comments.
Allred claimed that Talarico "had the temerity and the audacity to say to a Black woman that he had signed up to run against a 'mediocre Black man,' meaning me, and not a 'formidable, intelligent Black woman,' meaning Jasmine Crockett."
Talarico pushed back on the claims, arguingthat the allegations are "a mischaracterization of a private conversation."
"In my praise of Congresswoman Crockett, I described Congressman Allred’s method of campaigning as mediocre -- but his life and service are not. I would never attack him on the basis of race," Talarico said in astatementposted to X by his spokesperson.
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Talarico added that he "understand[s]" how his criticism could be perceived incorrectly "given this country’s painful legacy of racism," but emphasized his deep "respect" for Allred.
Crockett reacted to the news, thanking Allred for his endorsement and praising him for being "an even-tempered and measured person who doesn’t engage in pettiness" -- though she notably did not criticize her opponent or mention him by name.
"It’s unfortunate that at the start of Black History Month, this is what we’re facing. In former Congressman Colin Allred’s video, he drew a line in the sand. He made it clear that he did not take allegations of an attack on him as simply another day in the neighborhood,” Crockett's spokesperson said in a statement to ABC News.
Earlier Monday, Talarico appeared on ABC’s "The View" and emphasized his "deep love and respect” for Crockett, saying that he will “1,000 percent” support and assist her if she were to become the Democratic nominee over him.The Democratic nominee would face off in November with incumbent Republican John Cornyn or one of his primary challengers, including Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt.
While the allegations against Talarico were not discussed during his appearance on “The View,” he elaborated on his Senate campaign, calling for the overhaul of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and celebrating recent Democratic wins in Texas.
Reacting to the news ofLiam Ramos, the 5-year-old asylum seeker who was released from a Texas detention center on Sunday, Talarico slammed the current tactics being deployed by ICE before demanding an overhaul and reorganization of the agency.
"It’s time to tear down this secret police force and replace it with an agency that is actually going to focus on public safety," he said on "The View."
Though Talarico has stopped short of explicitly calling for the abolition of ICE, he has repeatedly expressed a desire to reallocate funding while also maintaining border security.
Over the weekend, Democrats delivered an upset victory in the Texas Senate District 9, where Democrat Taylor Rehmet defeated President Donald Trump-endorsed GOP candidate, Leigh Wambsganss, and flipped the reliably red seat.
When asked about what he would do to win over the voters that Rehmet had flipped, Talarico emphasized that he is “not writing off any voter” or “any community.”
“I'm extending an open hand instead of a closed fist, and in my experience, if you extend that open hand, you'll be surprised by who takes it,” Talarico said.
