Texas Democrat Talarico took $59K from Republican billionaire Adelson | Fox News
By: Anders Hagstrom (Fox News)
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Texas Democrat James Talarico has campaigned on getting megadonor cash out of elections, but records show he has been cashing checks from an unlikely source: a Republican, Trump-backing billionaire.
Talarico's single largest donation last year came from a PAC backed by casino mogul Miriam Adelson, the widow of longtime Republican megadonor Sheldon Adelson. Records show Talarico received $59,000 from Adelson's Texas Sands PAC in 2024, making the group his largest donor for that year.
A representative for Talarico's office defended his accepting the funds, telling Politico that while he opposes big-donor cash influencing elections, "he will not unilaterally disarm and let Texas Republicans play by different rules.
"Rep. Talarico believes our campaign finance system is deeply broken," spokesman Antonio Esparza told the outlet. "That's why he filed legislation to cap campaign contribution limits in the state of Texas."
James Talarico has accepted nearly $60,000 in donations from a Republican megadonor.((Photo by Jason Bollenbacher/SXSW Conference & Festivals via Getty Images))
Talarico proposed legislation last year that would have capped donations to state-level lawmakers at $10,000. There is no cap on such donations under current law.
Reports on the donations come after Talarico appeared on the "Joe Rogan Experience" podcast in July, during which he blasted Republicans for accepting billionaire dollars.
"Basically every single Republican state senator in Texas has taken their money. Every single one. A majority of the Republicans in the State House have taken their money," he told Rogan, referring to oil-based billionaires in the state. "They increasingly run this whole government here in Texas."
Billionaire donor Miriam Adelson attends President Donald Trump's second inauguration at the U.S. Capitol.(Saul Loeb/Pool photo via AP)
Meanwhile, Adelson's PAC has routinely supported both Democrats and Republicans on the state level in Texas, pushing for the state to legalize casino gambling. In 2023, Talarico voted in favor of a measure that would have given voters the chance to approve casino legalization through a constitutional amendment.
Talarico was among the roughly 50 Texas Democrats who fled the state earlier this month in an attempt to block Republicans from adopting a new congressional map.
Talarico and his fellow Democrats returned to Austin this week, saying they achieved their goal of galvanizing Democratic opposition across the country. Several Democratic states are now threatening to carry out their own redistricting plans, as parties battle for control over the House of Representatives in the 2026 midterm elections.
Anders Hagstrom is a reporter with Fox News Digital covering national politics and major breaking news events. Send tips to Anders.Hagstrom@Fox.com, or on Twitter: @Hagstrom_Anders.
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Just another hypocrite piece of shit, or as we call them, a democrat politician.
So $59.000 to a Democrat from a gop billionaire is absolute proof of Democratic corruption and yet hundreds of millions to Trump from Musk and Saudis is fine and dandy politics as usual? WTF?
This is an ignorant comment and a piss poor deflection, nobody said anything about corruption, He is a fucking hypocrite piece of shit like a lot of democrats.
Many billionaires and millionaires donate to both major parties. They play both sides in hopes of any benefits.
As long as Republicans block bills and measures to get big money out of politics then no one did anything wrong.
If Talarico backs a bill to get money out of politics and Republicans fail to support this measure, then why pretend some big gotcha moment like it's all his fault.
Republicans don't ever want big money out of politics ever.
You aren't playing gotcha on any individual Republican rep who takes money from Democrat millionaire donors.
Until we all stand together regardless of party and stop this system it's legal.