If you weren’t aware of right-wing organizer and podcaster Charlie Kirk‘s work until his tragic murder in Utah on Sept. 10, you probably didn’t realize he was the likely heir apparent of Donald Trump‘s MAGA movement. In fact, many people who were aware of his mission — which included co-founding Turning Point USA, the youth organization that helped return Trump to the White House, and touring colleges to engage young conservatives and harangue young liberals — might not have understood that. Kirk’s assassination made clear just how valuable and influential he was to the right. At 31, an official position of power within the GOP would have been his for the taking in just a few years.
His importance to the MAGA movement was underscored by their instantaneous crusade against the amorphous left. GOP influencers and officials, from the president on down, have vowed to avenge Kirk’s death by using the power of the state to quell dissent and, as White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller put it, “dismantle the left” — even as they eulogized Kirk as a model for free speech.
Democrats have been gobsmacked by this massive outpouring of anger that shows no signs of quieting. The party’s elected officials proclaimed their horror at the killing and made clear that political violence of any kind is unacceptable. But a few have stepped forward with messages that have resonated in different, deeper ways during this awful week of rage.
At 36, Talarico is only a few years older than Kirk, and while he doesn’t explicitly fashion himself as a voice of the younger generation, he may nonetheless represent the same generational change for Democrats that Kirk did for the MAGA movement. But Talarico’s message could not be more different.
One of them is James Talarico, a Texas state representative and Presbyterian seminarian who announced a run for the United States Senate in the Lone Star State against GOP Sen. John Cornyn the day before Kirk’s assassination. At 36, Talarico is only a few years older than Kirk, and while he doesn’t explicitly fashion himself as a voice of the younger generation, he may nonetheless represent the same generational change for Democrats that Kirk did for the MAGA movement.
But Talarico’s message could not be more different.
Like Kirk, he is a strong Christian believer who is exceptionally good at communicating in a way that appeals across generational lines. Talarico is a master at social media, generating over a million followers on Instagram and TikTok, and he has appeared on Fox News and “The Joe Rogan Experience.” (Rogan told him he needed to run for president because we need “a good person” in office.)
Talarico’s words after Kirk died were memorable both for their grace and political savvy. “I disagreed with Charlie Kirk on nearly every political issue,” he said, “but he was a child of God. He was our sibling. Our brother. A human being — endowed with infinite worth and entitled to unconditional love. But now, his wife is left without a husband, and his children are left without a father. This latest political assassination comes just three months after the Democratic Speaker of the Minnesota State House was shot and killed in her home. Political violence has no place in America.”
Unlike some commentators who used the moment to endow Kirk with character traits he did not possess or practice, Talarico used the universal spiritual language of his church to eulogize Kirk as a human being rather than a political personality. He no doubt did that deliberately, as Talarico says constantly in his speeches and appearances that he believes America’s problems are more spiritual than political. But he made sure to note that violence and hateful rhetoric isn’t happening on just one side of the political aisle.
For some of us who live in blue cities, this all might seem a bit too much. We would likely prefer the more secular appeal of Zohran Mamdani, another youthful candidate who is running to be mayor of New York City. But despite the differences in their styles, both Talarico and Mamdani are making a strong case against the pernicious influence of the billionaire class and for the old-fashioned notion of the common good — and they are doing it not with angry rants but with smiles. Their words and actions, both in their own ways, offer a measure of relief from the relentless negativity and antagonism we’ve been dealing with for what feels like decades, and they are tailored to the places they seek to represent. It is smart politics.
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Fresh-faced and squeaky clean, Talarico looks like he could have been a star in a 1950s sitcom. He speaks about loving your neighbor, but then he deftly pledges to “take on this broken political system and the very powerful people who benefit from this system being broken.” It’s populism in the language of a Sunday sermon, something that could appeal in a place like Texas.
But over the past seven years in the Texas statehouse, Talarico has also proven himself quite capable of facing down the hardcore right. According to Rolling Stone, he took on the two biggest billionaire GOP donors in Texas, oilman preachers named Tim Dunn and Farris Wilks:
“Tim Dunn on Sunday mornings preaches at a far-right church. And if you listen to his sermons, he doesn’t preach a theology of universal love. He preaches a theology of power and control and domination,” Talarico said. “He believes climate change is God’s will. He compares homosexuality to bestiality and pedophilia. He believes only Christians have a right to serve in public office.”
“What you’re seeing is a perversion of Christianity,” he said. “You can call it Christian fascism or Christian nationalism. Essentially, it’s the worship of power, in the name of Christ. And that is idolatry in its purest form.”
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Coming from a devout believer like Talarico, that critique could resonate with at least some Texans who actually read the Bible and sense that their leaders, both political and religious, have gone down a dark path. (And bonus points to Talarico for directly calling it Christian fascism — he knows what we’re dealing with.)
Democrats want their leaders to fight, and as a leader in the battle against Texas redistricting that unfolded over the summer, Talarico showed he can be steely when necessary. But he’s betting that people are also looking for a way out of this maelstrom of endless, bitter recriminations, knowing that we have to try and find a way to unify if we want to save our democracy.
After the horrific week we have all collectively experienced, which began with Kirk’s senseless assassination and then continued with insults and aspersions from the right, you don’t have to be religious to feel Talarico’s words as a healing balm. I don’t know if this country, much less Texas, is ready for what he’s selling. But it’s high time we found out.
