Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico is highlighting border security in a new campaign advertisement, saying former President Joe Biden failed to address the issue. The ad, released Monday according to the supplied report, has renewed attention to Talarico’s earlier criticism of Texas border enforcement and his call to shift state funding to education.
In the advertisement, Talarico says he called out Biden for failing the country on the border. Fox News Digital reported that his campaign did not provide an example of a public criticism of Biden during Biden’s presidency when asked for one.
The report contrasts the ad with comments Talarico made in a 2019 interview with The Austin Chronicle. He said Texas was directing about $800 million per two-year budget period to border security and argued he would rather put that money into public education, including increasing the state’s basic education allotment. The article describes the amount as the state’s full border-security budget at the time, with roughly $400 million allocated annually.
In the same interview, Talarico argued that deploying boats, aircraft and Border Patrol agents along the physical border was costly and did not address the underlying problem. He also characterized some lawmakers’ support for border spending as political posturing intended to satisfy parts of their political base.
The new ad comes as Talarico seeks a U.S. Senate seat in Texas, a state where the article says he has faced criticism that his progressive positions could make him an uncompetitive candidate. Fox News Digital describes his more recent presentation as a move toward a tougher border-security stance. The article also notes that illegal border crossings reached a 55-year low in 2025, citing the Department of Homeland Security, and attributes the decline to enforcement measures under the Trump administration.
Talarico’s campaign spokesperson, JT Ennis, defended the candidate’s current position. Ennis said Talarico is the only candidate in the race with a border-security agenda endorsed by Republican and Democratic sheriffs from border counties. He said Talarico supports stronger border security and immigration enforcement, including more Border Patrol agents, and favors arresting and deporting violent criminals and human traffickers rather than mothers and children.
The article also recaps other past statements by Talarico on immigration. It says he called for dismantling Immigration and Customs Enforcement, referred to undocumented immigrants as constituents, and criticized Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s border policies. These characterizations and quotations are presented in the source report; it does not provide additional context from the original settings for each remark.
Talarico is a former Texas legislator and schoolteacher. The report says he recently missed several days on the campaign trail and that online rumors about his absence circulated. Talarico said after returning that he had been recovering from the flu, according to the article.
He is running against Republican Ken Paxton for the Texas Senate seat. The source describes the contest as close as November’s midterm elections approach. It does not provide polling figures or further details on the race’s status.
