Progressive Talarico knifes Biden's open border, tries moderating stance on key issues in Texas Senate race

James Talarico hardened his stance on border security and pitted himself against the former president during a podcast interview on "Cogdell Law Uncensored" earlier this week.

The Democrat member of the Texas legislature has a far-left track record that includes calls to "tear down" Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE), an agency which he has called "secret police," and claiming the border should act as a "welcome mat" for illegal immigrants.

He is now the Democratic nominee taking on Trump-backed Republican Ken Paxton in the race for a Senate seat in Texas in November.

Those calls and his more moderate immigration stance emerged only after Talarico launched his Senate bid in the most populated U.S. red state where the most illegal immigration happens.

When asked repeatedly by Fox News Digital, Talarico's campaign officials could not produce evidence to support the progressive candidate's claims he was ever at odds with Biden on the issue of border security before his Senate campaign began and while Biden was still in office.

Millions of illegal aliens poured undetected into the United States during the previous presidency, while Talarico occupied his seat in the Texas House legislature.

"But I also think we need to keep out folks who want to do us harm, and public safety is the most important thing the government does," he said.

"James has never supported abolishing ICE and supports more border security - which is why he's authored legislation to modernize our ports of entry and called for more Border Patrol agents," Talarico's press secretary JT Ennis told Fox News Digital.

"Both parties have failed us on the issue of immigration, so James is running for Senate to keep our country safe by deporting criminals instead of hunting down moms, babies, and small business owners who have been contributing to our economy for decades."

He positioned himself during the conversation as a moderate Democrat, chastising people on the political left who are "trying to take away people's guns" and people on the political right who "don't want to see any regulations."

Ennis said that the candidate has "always believed, like the vast majority of Texans, that we must protect the Second Amendment while also enacting popular, common sense measures like universal background checks that keep guns out of the hands of dangerous criminals."

Talarico also distanced himself from child sex change surgeries, sometimes called "gender affirming care," and said he does not support them despite often earning criticism for his comments regarding children who identify as the opposite of their biological sex.

"I oppose gender reassignment surgeries for minors," he told Cogdell, claiming "the people that are in power" are trying to distract from "corruption in our government."

"So they're gonna use a tried and true playbook to get out of this," he said. "Distraction and division. That is how corrupt public officials stay in power."

He has said he loves them on multiple occasions, including on a podcast in 2023 when he was asked to name something that he loved other than his friends and family.

At the time, he had voted against a state bill to ban cross-sex hormones for minors.

"James opposes gender reassignment surgery for minors," said Ennis. "While billionaire-bought politicians like Ken Paxton spread lies to divide Texans, James will continue to stand up against both political parties to fix this broken, corrupt political system and support Texas families."

Paxton's campaign did not return Fox News Digital's request for comment on Talarico's apparent flip-flop on the border, Second Amendment or transgender youth