Texas Democrat candidate for U.S. Senate James Talarico appears to be further moderating his previous left-wing stances as he slammed former President Joe Biden for ‘failing us’ on border security in a new campaign advertisement released Monday.

Despite spewing a seemingly hawkish and downright right-leaning border stance in the recent ad, Talarico previously called to slash Texas’ entire border-security budget in an unearthed interview.

“I called out Joe Biden for failing us on the border,” Talarico says in the opening of the ad released this week.

But Talarico’s campaign couldn’t give Fox News Digital an example of him ever publicly criticizing Biden during his presidency. And the Texas Democrat explicitly made a call to put Texas’ entire $800 million two-year border security budget toward public education in a 2019 interview with The Austin Chronicle.

JAMES TALARICO ADMITS DEMOCRATS TOOK ‘BORDER FOR GRANTED’ UNDER BIDEN

“We’re also sending about $800 million per biennium to the border with Mexico for ‘increased border security,’” Talarico said in the more than seven-year-old interview.

The two-year deal allocating $400 million per year toward border security in the state of Texas was the state’s entire budget toward warding off illegal immigration at the time Talarico made the call to replace that funding.

“I’d rather take that money and put it back into public education and help increase the basic allotment, for instance,” he said in the interview.

Talarico has ramped up his efforts to come off more moderate amid claims that he is too progressive to win a Senate seat in notoriously red Texas. His move to a more moderate stance on immigration only started during his Senate bid in the state with the highest rates of illegal immigration.

“Putting a bunch of boats, planes and border patrol agents on the physical border is expensive and also does not solve the problem,” he said in the interview.

His 2019 criticism of border enforcement comes to the surface as border crossings under the Trump administration fell to a new record low level in 55 years in 2025, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The decline in illegal immigration followed a series of immigration enforcement measures implemented by the administration.

“Everyone will admit it’s just political grandstanding,” Talarico said in the interview. “Certain lawmakers want to appease extreme parts of their base. And they do it by pumping money we don’t have down to the border.”

EXCLUSIVE: TALARICO CAUGHT ON TAPE GIGGLING ABOUT HIS CHURCH HOUSING ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS SET FOR DEPORTATION

In his run for Senate, Talarico has now labeled himself a “border security” Democrat, despite an extensive history of pushing back on border security reform and authorities.

A former member of the Texas legislature and a former school teacher, Talarico has been in the spotlight repeatedly for many of his far-left controversies, particularly comments regarding immigration enforcement. He has called to dismantle Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), claiming it was “time to tear down this secret police force.”

Talarico also referred to illegal aliens as his “constituents.”

He labeled Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s border security policies as “atrocities” and accused him of “hunting” illegal immigrants. The Senate candidate also said he “taught a lot of undocumented students,” and that those illegal aliens were more patriotic than Americans.

“James is proud to be the only candidate in this race who has unveiled a border security agenda endorsed by Republican and Democratic border county sheriffs,” Talarico’s campaign spokesperson JT Ennis told Fox News Digital when asked about the flip-flop.

TALARICO DISAPPEARANCE HAS DEM VOLUNTEERS WORRYING AND TRUMP ASKING, ‘WHAT IS GOING ON?’

He continued, “James supports stronger border security and immigration enforcement — it’s why he’s called for more border patrol agents and has said we should be arresting and deporting violent criminals and human traffickers — not moms and babies.”

The Texas Senate hopeful went briefly missing from the campaign trail this month, prompting viral rumors online to swirl that he was at a behavioral health center. Talarico debunked these claims after clearing the air on his whereabouts when he reappeared Friday, reassuring voters that he was recovering from the flu.

Talarico is running against GOP rival Ken Paxton for the Senate seat in Texas. The race has remained close as November’s midterms approach.

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FIRST ON FOX: A new memo obtained by Fox News Digital alleges that former President Joe Biden’s Justice Department collected information on hundreds of thousands of Republican voters and donors, including the names and home addresses of people who purchased red MAGA hats and Trump memorabilia.

The memo is part of an update from Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and his investigation into former special counsel Jack Smith and his Arctic Frost probe, which was launched by Biden’s Department of Justice (DOJ) in 2022 to investigate efforts to overturn results of the 2020 election.

Grassley has been diving into Arctic Frost since last year, releasing a drip feed of whistleblower reports on the investigation that led to Smith testifying before the Judiciary Committee last month.

EXPLOSIVE NEW REPORT PUTS JACK SMITH BACK IN HOT SEAT AS JIM JORDAN ALLEGES HE TRIED TO ‘SWAY’ 2024 ELECTION

The latest update found that Smith’s special counsel office and the DOJ “obtained spreadsheets containing Republican campaign donors, supporters, and detailed personal voter information in various formats, totaling over 639,000 individuals, at minimum,” Grassley said in the memo.

“Out of those, over 148,000 rows are identified in the spreadsheets as donors,” he continued. “The donors generally contributed small-dollar amounts.”

Smith also sought and obtained information on the sales of red MAGA hats and Trump memorabilia, which Grassley noted included “individual purchasers and shipping addresses for home delivery.” 

“This is in addition to collecting a catalog of Trump campaign products including these red hats, T-shirts, mugs, and door mats,” Grassley said. “This further illustrates the extensive scope of irrelevant and personally invasive records obtained by Smith which were shared with FBI agents.”

The data gathered on the voters and donors included names, dates of birth, physical addresses, emails, whether the person was a registered Republican, their occupation and place of employment — samples on the list included retirees, pool technicians, drivers, loggers, etc. — credit card information, donor analysis data and donation amount, among other details.

JACK SMITH’S TRUMP PROBE SWEPT UP FOX NEWS, OTHER MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS AS INVESTIGATION WENT BEYOND LAWMAKERS

Fox News Digital reached out to Smith’s newly launched law firm for comment.

The memo follows a previous release from Grassley that showed Smith’s team collected checks from nearly 5,000 Americans across the country who donated to Trump and Trump-aligned Republican entities.

“This update shows that Jack Smith and the Biden Justice Department collected incredibly invasive donor data — and voter data — beyond what could conceivably be necessary for him or his team to fulfill the [special counsel office’s] mandate,” Grassley said.

HOUSE VOTES TO REPEAL CONTROVERSIAL ARCTIC FROST PROVISION FROM GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN BILL

“This update further corroborates that Smith and his partisan team aimed to map out the entire Republican Party apparatus,” he continued. “I again call on my Democratic colleagues to join my oversight work instead of trying to defend Smith and sweep his abuse of authority under the rug.”

Grassley noted that during Smith’s hearing last month, he pressed the former special counsel for a “yes or no” answer on whether his investigation gathered data on donors.

“Yes,” Smith said. “We acquired financial information. As I sit here right now, I cannot recite to you every subpoena we issued. I can tell you why we issued subpoenas. And it was to conduct a criminal investigation of one of the most serious crimes that’s ever happened in our nation’s history. I had a duty to collect facts.”

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Republicans are eyeing a rare Senate pickup opportunity in Minnesota, where GOP nominee Michele Tafoya is narrowing the gap with Democratic Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, prompting Fox News to move the race toward Republicans less than three weeks before Election Day.

It’s been nearly a quarter-century since Republicans last won a Senate election in the blue-leaning state. But Tafoya, a former longtime NFL sideline reporter, is aiming to break that losing streak by flipping the seat held by retiring Democratic Sen. Tina Smith.

A new Minnesota Star Tribune/KARE 11 poll shows Tafoya trailing Flanagan by just four percentage points. On Tuesday, the Fox News Power Rankings shifted the race to the right, from Likely Democrat to Lean Democrat.

GOP SENATE HOPEFUL SOUNDS ALARM AFTER TERROR PLOT THWARTED

“The more that Minnesotans learn about me and my opponent and see what my opponent has failed to do over the last eight years alongside [Democratic Gov.] Tim Walz, they’re understanding Minnesota needs change. We need fresh ideas, we need an independent thinker and they’re jumping on board,” Tafoya said in a Fox News Digital interview.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Flanagan campaign for comment but didn’t receive a response at the time this story was published.

The race is unfolding against the backdrop of Minnesota’s massive welfare assistance fraud scandal, which has attracted national attention for nearly a year and prompted Democratic Gov. Tim Walz to abandon his 2026 re-election bid. The scandal has also become a central issue in Tafoya’s campaign against Flanagan.

Tafoya noted that “there has been historic fraud under this administration, where Peggy Flanagan, my opponent, has been the second-in-charge in this state. And not only was the money stolen, it hollowed out these programs that were supposed to be getting help, like kids’ meals or autistic kids or seniors who were supposed to be getting visits, health visits, wellness visits. And, so, that’s been hollowed out.

DEMS SEE NEW CHANCES TO FLIP SENATE SEATS BUT GOP’S MASSIVE CASH ADVANTAGE AN OBSTACLE

“Walz understood that he was not going to win another term as governor with these conditions, but my opponent thinks she deserves a promotion. I think people are starting to realize she deserves a pink slip.”

Flanagan has said she is “incredibly angry with the fraud,” has acknowledged public frustration over the scandal and said more could have been done sooner to catch and prevent the fraud. The lieutenant governor has noted that she was not in charge of the state agencies at the center of the scandals or steering the daily state response. She has also distanced herself from Walz, who has accepted blame for the fraud.

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“It’s wall-to-wall coverage on every nightly news program here for months and months. We’re seeing it in polling,” Minnesota-based veteran national Republican strategist Kirsten Kukowski told Fox News Digital.

Pointing to Flanagan, Kukowski said she has “a lot of fraud baggage … and it’s really made the Senate race really tight here.”

Tafoya is also highlighting a recent spate of gang-related shootings in the Minneapolis-St. Paul suburbs and on Monday announced a five-point-plan to combat the violence.

“We will do more in our first eight weeks as a U.S. Senator than Peggy Flanagan has done in eight years as the second in charge,” she told Fox News Digital.

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EXCLUSIVE: TYLER, Texas — Faced with an uphill battle in November’s midterms as costs soar for Americans, Vice President JD Vance is making a pitch that the alternative is not better and argued that Democrats would only make existing problems like street crime worse.

“It sort of drives home how the Democrats have kind of lost their minds,” Vance told Fox News Digital Tuesday when asked about a recent rash of Somali gang violence in Minnesota.

“And if you elect Democrats, you’re fundamentally electing people who will invite criminals into your state, into your communities and make your communities less safe.”

In typically blue Minnesota, Democratic Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan is vying for a seat in the U.S. Senate but is facing a tough challenge from Republican Michele Tafoya.

100-SHOT SOMALI GANG GUN BATTLE ROCKS MINNESOTA AS SHERIFF WARNS ‘WE’RE IN TROUBLE’

“If you elect Republicans, you may not agree with us on everything, but we agree on some basic principles,” Vance continued. “Like, for example, everybody should be safe. Everybody should be secure in their communities, and we don’t want let violent criminals come into our country.

“So, I do think that contrast is driven a little bit more starkly given what’s happening in Minnesota.”

Fox News Digital spoke with the vice president after a campaign rally in the town of Tyler, Texas, about 100 miles east of Dallas, Tuesday. There, Vance rallied for Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton who is also in a tight U.S. Senate race with Democrat state Rep. James Talarico.

FOX NEWS POLL: IT’S A LONE STAR SENATE SHOWDOWN BETWEEN TALARICO AND PAXTON

The progressive candidate recently returned from a two-week campaign absence, which Vance described as “odd.”

“How old is he? Thirty-five? Forty?” Vance asked about Talarico. “You’ve got to have the energy to do the job, and taking two weeks off the campaign in October — that’s the meat of the campaign — I just think it’s a very, very bizarre thing.”

The vice president added that he hopes Talarico’s health is OK but that Texans must weigh whether he has the energy to do the job as a U.S. Senator.

TALARICO DISAPPEARANCE HAS DEM VOLUNTEERS WORRYING AND TRUMP ASKING, ‘WHAT IS GOING ON?’

In that race, Talarico has demanded a debate with Paxton, who has yet to oblige. President Donald Trump said the two should debate, posting to Truth Social that Paxton is “ready, willing, and able.” Vance took a softer stance when asked about a potential debate.

“That’s ultimately something Ken Paxton and James Talarico are going to decide,” Vance told Fox News Digital, adding that Paxton will make a “great senator.”

“Obviously, those are some … things the campaigns have to negotiate,” he continued. “But I’ll let Ken Paxton and James Talarico make that decision. Ultimately, they each have to make their case to the people of Texas.”

Nationwide, Republicans are underwater when it comes to the economy and cost of living, along with the war in Iran, according to Fox News polling.

REPUBLICANS FACE BRUTAL MIDTERM HEADWINDS. SIX FORCES COULD HELP THEM DEFY HISTORY.

Of those polled in September, 61% say gas prices are a major problem, up from 48% from two years ago, while 52% say the same for healthcare costs, up from 44%. Majorities also view housing costs (54%, down from 60%) and grocery prices (62%, down from 66%) as major problems ahead of the November election.

In a similar poll, 71% of respondents said the Trump administration lacks a concrete strategy for ending the ongoing war in Iran.

The two issues are closely related after gas prices spiked sharply from a national average of $2.98 per gallon at the start of the war earlier this year to an average of $4.33 per gallon today.

“Well, we obviously want gas prices to be as low as they possibly can,” Vance said. “And I think voters have to ask themselves, ‘Who has affirmatively taken steps to lower gas prices in the face, of course, of the Iranians terrorizing international shipping?’”

REPUBLICAN LAWMAKERS BREAK WITH TRUMP ON DIESEL DEAL WITH RUSSIA

Vance accused Democrats of complaining about the problem without offering solutions.

“We saw the president’s announcement, with Russian diesel being allowed to come into the market,” he said. “We have massive refinery capacity that we’re announcing that we’re going to build upon here. So, we’re doing everything that we can, recognizing that building out energy refining capacity takes some time.

“I’m very cognizant that a lot of Americans are struggling with high gas prices,” he acknowledged. “We’re doing as much as we can to address as much of the pain as possible.”

The 50th vice president stopped short of providing a definitive end date or marker that would signify an end to the war but said Iran must commit “not to rebuild [uranium enrichment] capacity and to stay off a pathway of nuclear weapons.”

“They’re going to stay off the pathway that’s developing a nuclear weapon, and I think the president’s been quite clear about that. I think the entire administration has been quite clear about that.”

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