A day before Texas voters choose between Democrat James Talarico and Republican Ken Paxton for U.S. Senate, James O’Keefe’s O’Keefe Media Group released undercover video Monday in which people close to Talarico describe his public, moderate positioning as a strategy aimed at winning over Texas voters rather than a reflection of his actual views.
The footage features three people: Williamson County Democrat Party Chair Kim Collins Gilby, Matt Menard, who is identified as the father of Talarico’s girlfriend Brianna Menard, and Andhi Beltran Garcia, a Travis County Democrat Party regional organizer.
What the tapes show
Gilby is recorded saying Talarico “will not vote to close… the border” and that he has talked about putting “a welcome mat out at our border.” She also suggests his remarks at a CNN town hall about transgender surgeries for minors were meant “to make himself appear more centrist,” adding, “he’s very liberal” but “we’ve got to get elected so that we can do something.”
Menard tells the undercover journalist not to “put too much stock into border security comments,” calls Talarico “not going moderate” and “a progressive,” says he backs a pathway to citizenship for everyone, and claims Talarico would “absolutely stop” current ICE enforcement tactics if Democrats gained control of Congress.
Beltran Garcia says Talarico will “play the middle ground because he’s in Texas” on abortion while privately holding “a lot more progressive” views on the issue.
“James [Talarico], he’s not going middle.”
The public record versus the tapes
On the campaign trail, including at a high-profile CNN town hall, Talarico has described himself as “a border security Democrat” and has criticized the Biden administration for “not securing the border.” The newly released recordings present a contrast between that public framing and the private characterizations offered by the three people in the footage.
Neither the Talarico campaign nor the Texas Democrat Party had publicly responded to the video as of Monday.
Part of a broader pattern
The release fits a pattern for O’Keefe, who has produced similar undercover footage targeting Democrat campaigns in past election cycles. In October, undercover video of a regional field organizer for Michigan Democrat Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed touched off discussion of alleged foreign donations; the Michigan Democrat Party later confirmed that staffer had been terminated.
Texas voters decide the Senate contest between Talarico and Paxton, the state’s sitting attorney general, on Tuesday. The video is now part of the public conversation heading into Election Day, though its effect on the outcome will be determined at the ballot box.
