A ‘mediocre’ comment has put Talarico's Texas Senate campaign in the hot seat
Same show, different day.
The tense Texas Democratic Senate primary has been roiled by yet another online firestorm after an influencer accused state Rep. James Talarico of calling a former opponent a “mediocre Black man” — a claim he said was a “mischaracterization of a private conversation.”
The influencer, Morgan Thompson, who posts under the username @morga_tt on TikTok, posted the accusation in a video Sunday in which she claimed that Talarico told her in a private conversation after a Jan. 12 town hall in Plano, Texas, that he had “signed up to run against a mediocre Black man, not a formidable, intelligent Black woman.” That reference was allegedly to former Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas), who was in the Senate race until December, when he dropped out right before Rep. Jasmine Crockett joined. Both Allred and Crockett are Black; Talarico is white.
Talarico pushed back on Thompson’s description of their 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 the statement.
Thompson said in a video Monday that she has no recording of the conversation but laid out evidence that she had been in contact with Talarico’s campaign to arrange it, including a photo of her standing with Talarico at the event, along with multiple texts she says were exchanged with an unnamed campaign staffer to plan the interaction. She had endorsed Talarico but said she now supports Crockett.
In an interview with POLITICO before Talarico issued his statement, Thompson said she anticipated that not having a recording of the conversation with Talarico would raise skepticism of her account, but she still “felt like it was important enough to bring forward, given the nature of everything.” She declined to provide the name and contact information for that staffer so that POLITICO could verify their connection to the campaign.
The alleged exchange threatens to upend a primary in which polls show voters are sharply dividing along racial lines, with most Black voters supporting Crockett, and majorities of white and Latino voters supporting Talarico.
Allred fired back. “James, if you want to compliment Black women, just do it. Just do it. Don't do it while also tearing down a Black man,” he said in a video he posted to Instagram on Monday.
“When you make an accusation, you often have a bit of confession in it,” continued Allred, who is now running for Congress in the 33rd District against Rep. Julie Johnson (D-Texas). “Maybe you use the word mediocre because there was something creeping into your mind about yourself.”
Crockett, in a statement, said that by posting his response video, Allred “drew a line in the sand.”
“He made it …
Same show, different day.
The tense Texas Democratic Senate primary has been roiled by yet another online firestorm after an influencer accused state Rep. James Talarico of calling a former opponent a “mediocre Black man” — a claim he said was a “mischaracterization of a private conversation.”
The influencer, Morgan Thompson, who posts under the username @morga_tt on TikTok, posted the accusation in a video Sunday in which she claimed that Talarico told her in a private conversation after a Jan. 12 town hall in Plano, Texas, that he had “signed up to run against a mediocre Black man, not a formidable, intelligent Black woman.” That reference was allegedly to former Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas), who was in the Senate race until December, when he dropped out right before Rep. Jasmine Crockett joined. Both Allred and Crockett are Black; Talarico is white.
Talarico pushed back on Thompson’s description of their 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 the statement.
Thompson said in a video Monday that she has no recording of the conversation but laid out evidence that she had been in contact with Talarico’s campaign to arrange it, including a photo of her standing with Talarico at the event, along with multiple texts she says were exchanged with an unnamed campaign staffer to plan the interaction. She had endorsed Talarico but said she now supports Crockett.
In an interview with POLITICO before Talarico issued his statement, Thompson said she anticipated that not having a recording of the conversation with Talarico would raise skepticism of her account, but she still “felt like it was important enough to bring forward, given the nature of everything.” She declined to provide the name and contact information for that staffer so that POLITICO could verify their connection to the campaign.
The alleged exchange threatens to upend a primary in which polls show voters are sharply dividing along racial lines, with most Black voters supporting Crockett, and majorities of white and Latino voters supporting Talarico.
Allred fired back. “James, if you want to compliment Black women, just do it. Just do it. Don't do it while also tearing down a Black man,” he said in a video he posted to Instagram on Monday.
“When you make an accusation, you often have a bit of confession in it,” continued Allred, who is now running for Congress in the 33rd District against Rep. Julie Johnson (D-Texas). “Maybe you use the word mediocre because there was something creeping into your mind about yourself.”
Crockett, in a statement, said that by posting his response video, Allred “drew a line in the sand.”
“He made it …
A ‘mediocre’ comment has put Talarico's Texas Senate campaign in the hot seat
Same show, different day.
The tense Texas Democratic Senate primary has been roiled by yet another online firestorm after an influencer accused state Rep. James Talarico of calling a former opponent a “mediocre Black man” — a claim he said was a “mischaracterization of a private conversation.”
The influencer, Morgan Thompson, who posts under the username @morga_tt on TikTok, posted the accusation in a video Sunday in which she claimed that Talarico told her in a private conversation after a Jan. 12 town hall in Plano, Texas, that he had “signed up to run against a mediocre Black man, not a formidable, intelligent Black woman.” That reference was allegedly to former Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas), who was in the Senate race until December, when he dropped out right before Rep. Jasmine Crockett joined. Both Allred and Crockett are Black; Talarico is white.
Talarico pushed back on Thompson’s description of their 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 the statement.
Thompson said in a video Monday that she has no recording of the conversation but laid out evidence that she had been in contact with Talarico’s campaign to arrange it, including a photo of her standing with Talarico at the event, along with multiple texts she says were exchanged with an unnamed campaign staffer to plan the interaction. She had endorsed Talarico but said she now supports Crockett.
In an interview with POLITICO before Talarico issued his statement, Thompson said she anticipated that not having a recording of the conversation with Talarico would raise skepticism of her account, but she still “felt like it was important enough to bring forward, given the nature of everything.” She declined to provide the name and contact information for that staffer so that POLITICO could verify their connection to the campaign.
The alleged exchange threatens to upend a primary in which polls show voters are sharply dividing along racial lines, with most Black voters supporting Crockett, and majorities of white and Latino voters supporting Talarico.
Allred fired back. “James, if you want to compliment Black women, just do it. Just do it. Don't do it while also tearing down a Black man,” he said in a video he posted to Instagram on Monday.
“When you make an accusation, you often have a bit of confession in it,” continued Allred, who is now running for Congress in the 33rd District against Rep. Julie Johnson (D-Texas). “Maybe you use the word mediocre because there was something creeping into your mind about yourself.”
Crockett, in a statement, said that by posting his response video, Allred “drew a line in the sand.”
“He made it …
0 Comments
0 Shares
33 Views
0 Reviews
