Dem Senate candidate in the hot seat after anti-meat comment resurfaces: 'This will haunt him'

By Fox News · Fox News

Senate candidate James Talarico, D-Texas, has been facing an intense online firestorm after a resurfaced video showed him calling on Texans to ditch meat to fight climate change. Republicans and conservative influencers have widely panned the remark as a potentially fatal blow to his Senate bid and suggested his anti-meat stance could dog him on the campaign trail. "Democrats are trying to fool Texans into believing James Talarico isn’t some whacked out lib, but the clips keep coming," Andrew Kolvet, Turning Point USA spokesman, wrote on X. "In 2022, Talarico, wearing a mask, scolded Texans about going meat-free (!!) to stop climate change. This is TEXAS. This will haunt him in the general." "That just isn’t poor taste, it’s political poison," Lawrence Jones said on "The Will Cain Show" on Thursday. Talarico, a three-term state legislator and self-described Presbyterian seminarian, is seeking to unseat Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who is facing an insurgent primary challenge from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Talarico defeated Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, in a primary battle earlier this month. TALARICO REPORTEDLY KNEW COLBERT INTERVIEW WOULDN'T AIR ON TV BEFORE HE LEFT TO FILM IT Talarico’s anti-meat remarks stem from a speech he delivered in April 2022 to the Texas Humane Legislation Network, during which he said his reelection bid was a "non-meat" campaign. "We have, I think, heard more and more issues of animal welfare," Talarico said while wearing a mask. "I think, not just because it’s the right thing to do and the moral thing to do, but also, it’s, as all of you know, necessary to fight climate change. It is now existential that we try to reduce our meat consumption and that we try to respect animals in all aspects of society." "So, I am proud to say that our campaign has officially become a non-meat campaign," Talarico continued. "So, we are only buying vegan products from our local vegan businesses." Amid the backlash, the Talarico campaign blasted o…