Platform published 2026-10-31
Talarico, a former sixth-grade teacher, Texas House member, and Presbyterian seminarian, frames his campaign around taking power back for working people. On corruption and democracy, he says he has never taken corporate PAC money and supports reversing Citizens United and banning super PACs and corporate PACs, a nationwide ban on partisan gerrymandering via independent commissions, the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, a congressional stock-trading ban, term limits of six House terms and two Senate terms, mandatory annual town halls, ending presidential pardons, Supreme Court term limits and a binding ethics code, and stronger checks and balances. On costs, citing his work on a large Texas property tax cut, he proposes a middle-class tax cut through expanded Child Tax Credit and EITC and restored ACA tax credits, a $15 federal minimum wage, protecting Social Security and Medicare, a public health option, curbs on corporate rent manipulation and Wall Street home buying, defending SNAP and WIC and scrutinizing grocery mergers, making AI data centers pay for their own energy infrastructure, repealing the Trump tariffs, and capping credit card interest rates. On education, he would keep public money in public schools and oppose vouchers, fund evidence-based reading and math, hire and support more teachers, provide universal pre-K and affordable child care, protect special education, expand career pathways and school meals, and set AI guidelines for classrooms. On health care, citing his Texas insulin cap, he supports letting any American join Medicare, antitrust action against vertically integrated health conglomerates, lower drug costs, protecting the ACA, prior-authorization reform, addressing maternal mortality, codifying Roe v. Wade and protecting contraception and IVF, saving rural hospitals, canceling eligible medical debt, and opposing VA privatization. On freedom and faith, he defends church-state separation, opposes book bans and the Texas THC ban, and supports paid family leave and elder care. On immigration, he says the border should have "a welcome mat out front and a lock on the door," and supports comprehensive reform, more Border Patrol agents and action against cartels, focusing ICE on criminals and banning masked agents, a path to citizenship for long-term residents, asylum reform with more judges, and stronger guest-worker standards. On technology, he proposes an AI dividend funded by a tax on AI-attributable profits, kids' online safety and parental controls, protections from workplace AI surveillance, chip export controls, digital literacy grants, and clear crypto rules. On public safety, he supports addressing root causes of crime, resourcing law enforcement, protecting the Second Amendment while passing universal background checks, supporting crime survivors, legalizing regulated adult marijuana, and reentry programs. On labor, he supports expanded overtime, paid leave, the freedom to unionize, and ending large-corporation tax breaks to level the field for small businesses.
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