Texas Democratic Senate hopeful James Talarico once lavished praise on a self-described “TransQueer, Latinx” activist theologian as a major source of inspiration for his left-wing philosophy.
“When you started following me on Twitter, I couldn’t contain my inner fan boy, because I read your book last year and it continues to inspire me and y’all’s work continues to inspire me,” the state lawmaker told Roberto Henderson-Espinoza during a March 2021 podcast appearance.
“I told you I was a boring, straight, cis white man, and I added ‘Presbyterian’ to spice it up,” Talarico added. “My imagination is also just limited by my own background and identity.”
“My whiteness, my masculinity, all those things limit my imagination about what’s possible,” he went on. “And that’s where … your book helps me do that.”
Henderson-Espinoza, a PhD scholar, uses He/They pronouns and self-describes as Mestizaje (mixed race), autistic, non-binary, transgender, and Latinx.
The book Talarico referred to was Henderson-Espinoza’s “Activist Theology,” published in 2019, which lays out a brand of progressive religious values aimed at fighting “interlocking supremacies.”
The two began interacting in February 2021 after Talarico followed Henderson-Espinoza on X and described himself as “a BIG fan.”
Since winning the Democratic nod for Senate, Talarico has faced a deluge of attacks from Republicans accusing him of being too woke for Texas.
GOP critics have pointed to Talarico’s past remarks, including from 2021, when he explained that “In my faith, God is non-binary,” argued that the Bible is fine with abortion, and suggested that there are six biological sexes.
Talarico’s past affinity for Henderson-Espinoza seemingly provides some clues about where he was getting some of those ideas.
In 2018, Henderson-Espinoza penned a paper calling for “transing religion as one approach to methodologically dismantle the logic of the norm that grounds the reproduction of binarisms and theologies of complementarity.”
He praised the Bible as “trans-positive,” described transgender individuals as “Easter icons,” and has given sermons while wearing “Black Lives Matter” paraphernalia.
Henderson-Espinoza has also battled against Texas legislation aimed at barring transgender females from competing in girls’ sports, blasting that effort as “mean-spirited,” and opposed legislation to ensure that parents were informed by schools if their children were transitioning.
Recently, Talarico publicly vented that his GOP foe, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, “is clipping my past cringey comments” and clarified his belief that “you can’t use human categories to define God.”
“James has already said that he’s missed the mark on some of these old statements,” Talarico spokesperson JT Ennis told The Post when asked about his candidate’s appearance with Henderson-Espinoza.
“While Ken Paxton clips a few cringey comments to distract from the fact that he gave an Epstein-style sweetheart deal to an admitted child molester, James will continue demanding that Paxton release the Hoffman Files so Texans can get answers about the corrupt deal that let a pedophile back on our streets.”
Adam Hoffman, a Waco lawyer, served 29 days in jail after admitting to misdemeanor counts of indecent assault and displaying harmful material to a minor after a trial on child sexual abuse charges ended in a hung jury. Paxton’s office had taken over the case after the local DA recused himself.
The Republican’s team has accused Talarico of turning a “turning a child victim into a political pawn” and argued the alleged victim of Hoffman had refused to testify in a second trial.
Hoffman’s lawyer, Gerry Morris, told the New York Times last week that while “I can’t stand Ken Paxton … He had absolutely nothing to do with the plea deal in this case.”
Talarico has polled neck and neck with Paxton, whose past controversies include his 2023 impeachment over allegations that he obstructed justice in a securities fraud case, made false statements against whistleblowers, misappropriated public resources, and gave preferential treatment to a donor, among other counts.
