Texas Dem nominee James Talarico invokes faith to defend abortion rights, 'The Bible is silent on abortion'

"I don't believe it's a place for the state," Talarico continued. "And that's a belief I hold not despite my faith, but because of my faith. Jesus never talks about abortion. The Bible is silent on abortion. And when that happens with a social issue as important as abortion, we Christians have to take scripture as a whole." 

"And we've got to try to make some kind of ethical determination," Talarico continued. "Right now in Texas, we have the most extreme abortion ban in the country. No exception for rape. No exception for incest. We have girls as young as 10 years old who are assaulted, who are raped, who are victims of incest, and who can't access basic reproductive care, who aren't able to make the decision about whether or not they are going to create."

Polling shows hypothetical tight races between Talarico and Republican Texas Sen. John Cornyn and Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton. Cornyn and Paxton are in a runoff to see who will be the GOP nominee for the Senate seat, which will be crucial to determining control of the chamber in the 2026 midterms.

Talarico is trying to become the first Democrat to win statewide office in Texas in decades. No Democrat has won a U.S. Senate race in Texas since 1988.