Politics

A ‘mediocre’ comment has put Talarico’s Texas Senate campaign in the hot seat

Published

1 month ago

February 3, 2026

The tense Texas Democratic Senate primary has been roiled by yet another online firestorm after an influencer accused state Rep. James Talarico of calling a former opponent a “mediocre Black man” — a claim he said was a “mischaracterization of a private conversation.”

The influencer, Morgan Thompson, who posts under the username @morga_tt on TikTok, posted the accusation in a video on Sunday in which she claimed that Talarico told her in a private conversation after a Jan. 12 town hall in Plano, Texas, that he had “signed up to run against a mediocre Black man, not a formidable, intelligent Black woman.” That reference was allegedly to former Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas), who was in the Senate race until December, when he dropped out right before Rep. Jasmine Crockett joined. Both Allred and Crockett are Black; Talarico is white.

Talarico pushed back on Thompson’s description of their conversation.

“In my praise of Congresswoman Crockett, I described Congressman Allred’s method of campaigning as mediocre – but his life and service are not. I would never attack him on the basis of race,” Talarico said in the statement.

Thompson said in a video Monday that she has no recording of the conversation but laid out evidence that she had been in contact with Talarico’s campaign to arrange it, including a photo of her standing with Talarico at the event, along with multiple texts she says were exchanged with an unnamed campaign staffer to plan the interaction. She had endorsed Talarico but said she now supports Crockett.

In an interview with Blue Light News before Talarico issued his statement, Thompson said she anticipated that not having a recording of the conversation with Talarico would raise skepticism of her account, but she still “felt like it was important enough to bring forward, given the nature of everything.” She declined to provide the name and contact information for that staffer so that Blue Light News could verify their connection to the campaign.

The alleged exchange threatens to upend a primary in which polls show voters are sharply dividing along racial lines, with most Black voters supporting Crockett, and majorities of white and Latino voters supporting Talarico.

Allred fired back. “James, if you want to compliment Black women, just do it. Just do it. Don’t do it while also tearing down a Black man,” he said in a video he posted to Instagram on Monday.

“When you make an accusation, you often have a bit of confession in it,” continued Allred, who is now running for Congress in the 33rd District against Rep. Julie Johnson (D-Texas). “Maybe you use the word mediocre because there was something creeping into your mind about yourself.”

Crockett, in a statement, said that by posting his response video, Allred “drew a line in the sand.”

“He made it clear that he did not take allegations of an attack on him as simply another day in the neighborhood, but more importantly, his post wasn’t about himself,” she said. “It was a moment that he decided to stand for all people who have been targeted and talked about in a demeaning way as our country continues to be divided.”

Thompson said in the video that she had been offered the chance to talk to Talarico because she was unhappy that Talarico’s campaign had sent out fundraising messages from Democratic strategist James Carville given Carville’s calls for Democrats to move away from “woke” politics. She had previously endorsed Talarico and said she worked with his campaign as part of its content creator outreach program but now supports Crockett.

It’s the latest online explosion related to the primary. Last month, the hosts of popular podcast “Las Culturistas” urged people not to send money to Crockett because she had a history of “making it too obviously about” herself, a comment from host Matt Rogers that cohost Bowen Yang agreed with. That some of her supporters said the remarks were racist and misogynist, setting off off a fierce debate about what type of Democratic candidate can do well in red states like Texas. The hosts later apologized.

A spokesperson for Allred, Sandhya Raghavan, said in a statement that his response to Talarico’s alleged remarks “speaks to a frustration that resonates far beyond this moment.”

“When a former NFL player, civil rights attorney, and former congressman can be dismissed as ‘mediocre,’ it reveals the impossible standards Black candidates are held to,” she said. “Colin refused to accept that disrespect in silence — and in doing so, he stood up for every Black professional who has had their qualifications unfairly dismissed.”

Politics

War, Trump and Washington’s Gridlock | Sen. Katie Britt

Published

5 hours ago

March 6, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

War, Trump and Washington’s Gridlock | Sen. Katie Britt

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Politics

Republican group attacks Thomas Massie for his opposition to Iran war

Published

9 hours ago

March 6, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Republicans attempting to oust Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie in a bitter primary are deploying his opposition to the war in Iran.

The Republican Jewish Coalition Victory Fund on Thursday planned to release an supporting Ed Gallrein, the candidate endorsed by President Donald Trump, that focuses on Massie’s opposition to the war.

“America is at war with a fanatical regime that seeks nuclear weapons. American hero Ed Gallrein stands with President Trump, our country and our military,” a narrator says in the 30-second spot, shared with Blue Light News ahead of its release.

“Thomas Massie, he stands with Iran and radical leftists in Congress,” the narrator says, “opposing Trump just like he did on the border and taxes.”

The campaign ad appears to be among the first attempts to use the Iran war to support a candidate, a risky choice since polls show the high-risk operation is not popular with voters. Massie, who faces Gallrein in a May primary, is a top Trump target for a number of perceived sins — most notably because the outspoken Kentucky lawmaker successfully pushed with Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California for the release of the Epstein files.

The ad from the RJC Victory Fund was scheduled to drop hours after the House rejected an effort led by Massie and Khanna to force the president to halt the attack.

Massie claimed a win, though, by saying “we put everyone on record” about a military operation that “could last months.”

Massie has been outspoken in his opposition to the conflict in Iran, accusing Trump of forsaking his “America First” doctrine and challenging members of his own party to rein in the president’s ability to wage war without the approval of Congress.

As the RJC Victory Fund funneled millions of dollars into attacking him, Massie cast his race as “about whether the Global Military Industrial Complex and Israel’s government controls the United States” and began fundraising off his opposition.

Andrew Howard contributed to this report.

Politics

‘Good riddance’: Dems cheer Noem’s ouster — and call for more departures

Published

13 hours ago

March 5, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Democrats celebrated Kristi Noem’s firing as the Homeland Security secretary on Thursday, while calling for more heads to roll among President Donald Trump’s more controversial aides and advisers.

“Kristi Noem will go down as the most shamelessly incompetent and cruel Homeland Security Secretary in U.S. history,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom wrote on X. “Firing her is not enough. NOEM, GREG BOVINO, and STEPHEN MILLER all must be held accountable for terrorizing and endangering the American people.”

Several other potential 2028 presidential candidates were quick to join the chorus applauding the move, seizing on the opportunity to push for further personnel changes at the highest levels of the Trump administration.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker also warned in a video posted to social media that Noem would still “be held accountable.”

“Hey, Kristi Noem, don’t let the door hit you on the way out,” he said. “Here’s your legacy: corruption and chaos, parents and children were teargassed. Moms and nurses, U.S. citizens, getting shot in the face. Now that you’re gone, don’t think you get to just walk away.”

Noem’s impending departure — Trump wrote Thursday on Truth Social that she’ll soon become the inaugural “Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas” — brings to a close a tumultuous yearlong stint at the agency. Trump also announced that he intends to tap Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) to replace Noem atop the department.

Noem is the most senior administration official to depart thus far in Trump’s second term.

But Democrats were quick to signal they were not satisfied with her exit, swiftly calling for Trump to axe other Cabinet-level officials. Both House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) urged Trump to fire embattled Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), meanwhile, said Trump should cut loose Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. next. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore also celebrated Noem’s ouster.

Noem came under bipartisan fire for her alleged relationship with Trump ally Corey Lewandowski, which she denies, and for labeling two Minnesota protesters killed by federal law enforcement in January “domestic terrorists.”

The former South Dakota governor also faced questions about a $220 million DHS ad campaign, testifying during a Tuesday congressional hearing that Trump approved the spending — a claim he later denied in an interview with Reuters.

“Time and time again, Secretary Noem failed the American people and her duty to the Constitution,” Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) wrote on X. “This was particularly true in how she oversaw ICE. Her departure demonstrates that if you don’t uphold the most basic American values, the American public wants you gone.”

Several Democratic lawmakers also indicated that Noem’s departure does not change their demands surrounding funding for DHS and for reforms at Immigration and Customs Enforcement amid an ongoing partial government shutdown.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Thursday that ICE faces deeper problems that cannot be addressed with a single personnel change.

“The problems at ICE transcend any one individual. … It goes beyond any one person,” he said Thursday. “You need to straighten out the whole agency. The rot there is deep.”

Republicans, meanwhile, largely fell in lockstep behind Mullin — who said Thursday he was “excited about the opportunity” — and he will likely face a smooth confirmation process. Some Republican lawmakers acknowledged that a leadership shakeup at DHS was overdue.

“It was time for a change,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) wrote in a social media post, while Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said the decision was “good for the president and his legacy on border and deportation.”

Cheyanne M. Daniels contributed to this report.