Texas Senate candidate James Talarico spent Thursday campaigning alongside a Democratic congressional candidate who has compared Immigration and Customs Enforcement to the Ku Klux Klan and demanded the agency be abolished — a pairing that threatens to undercut Talarico's effort to sell himself as a Democrat who can win in a Republican-leaning state.
Talarico, who is running for the U.S. Senate, briefly praised Frederick Haynes III during a get-out-the-vote event in Texas, part of what his campaign calls the "Clear Eyes Full Hearts" tour, according to Fox News Politics. Haynes, the pastor of Friendship-West Baptist Church in Dallas, is running to fill the seat of Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, in the 30th Congressional District after Crockett gave up the seat for a Senate bid she ultimately lost.
"Give it up for your next congressman, Dr. Freddy Haynes. Thank you, Dr. Haynes, for those kind words and for your service to this community," Talarico said following Haynes' introduction and speech, per Fox News Politics.
Talarico has not issued a formal endorsement of Haynes, but the appearance is notable for a candidate whose entire statewide strategy rests on appealing to the values of Texas voters who have not sent a Democrat to statewide office in decades.
Haynes used the event to escalate his rhetoric against federal immigration enforcement. "You transformed ICE into the new KKK and brought about terror in this nation," Haynes said of President Donald Trump's use of ICE, according to Fox News Politics.
The comparison is not an isolated outburst. Haynes has built his congressional campaign on framing his political views through a racial lens, describing his support for climate policy as a fight against "environmental racism" and accusing conservatives and the Trump administration of benefiting from fears of Black advancement.
"They have used Black people and perceived Black progress as the boogeyman. We have not witnessed this kind of corruption, this kind of blatant corruption," Haynes said in an October interview, per Fox News Politics. "We are witnessing the demolishing of what democratic infrastructure was built by the gains of the civil rights movement."
Even before launching his congressional run, Haynes made political commentary that relied heavily on a racial lens. After the death of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, Haynes described Kirk as a man with views "rooted in White supremacy" and contrasted it with the deaths of Martin Luther King, according to Fox News Politics.
Haynes' rhetoric on ICE is notable given the agency's role in carrying out the Trump administration's mass deportation agenda, which remains a signature priority of the president's second term. ICE officers have faced heightened scrutiny since the administration ramped up enforcement operations, and comparing them to the KKK is a charge that goes far beyond policy disagreement.
For Talarico, the moment with Haynes cuts directly against the image he has tried to project since launching his Senate campaign. The state representative from Austin has sought to distance himself from past remarks Republicans have characterized as woke, pitching himself as a Democrat who can speak to the values of the Lone Star State rather than the progressive wing of his party.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee and the Texas GOP have already signaled they intend to tie Talarico to the most radical voices in his party, and Haynes' rhetoric fits the bill.
It is not yet known what specific role Haynes will play in Talarico's campaign operation or whether the two will appear together again. Talarico's campaign did not respond to a request for comment about Haynes' ICE remarks, according to Fox News Politics.
Texas voters have grown accustomed to Democratic candidates who run one way in the primary and another in the general election. Talarico's appearance with Haynes suggests the primary is not over — and that the state representative is still catering to the activist base that will decide whether he advances to November.
Our Take
This is what happens when a candidate's brand depends on pretending the radicals in his own party don't exist. Talarico wants Texas voters to believe he's a different kind of Democrat, a sensible centrist who can break through in a red state. Then he hops on stage with a man who compares federal law enforcement to the KKK and thanks him for his "kind words."
Texas has more ICE agents than almost any state in the union. It has border communities that have lived through the chaos of open borders. And it has voters who understand that ICE officers are not Klansmen — they are public servants doing a job the federal government has every right to do. When Haynes calls ICE the "new KKK," he is not attacking a policy agenda. He is attacking the officers, agents, and staff who carry out the law, and he is calling the tens of millions of Americans who support immigration enforcement complicit in racism.
Talarico did not endorse Haynes. But he showed up, he praised him, and he used his platform to elevate a congressional candidate whose entire political identity is built on dividing Texans by race. That is not the politics of a moderate. That is the politics of a candidate who is afraid to tell the national party base no.
Republicans are going to put this footage in every ad in every market across the state. The only question is whether Texans are paying attention.
