Joe Rogan to Texas Democrat James Talarico: ‘You need to run.’ (Does he?) | Opinion
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Texas Rep. James Talarico gained national attention after Joe Rogan interview.
- Talarico champions working-class issues, questions organized religion's role.
- Rogan's endorsement spurred crowds, media buzz and talk of higher office.
If Texas Democrats need young talent, James Talarico is a start.
The 36-year-old Texas House lawmaker from Round Rock is not far removed from his days as Jimmy Talarico, theater kid from McNeil High School, sixth-grade English teacher and now, Presbyterian seminarian.
He is a Christian progressive Democrat and future pastor. He preaches both God’s love and liberal policy, which means he is going to get bashed by both the power-hungry Republican church clique and by doubting Democrats.
Until July 18, he was a marginal candidate for statewide office. He was popular inside the Austin progressive bubble but completely unknown to more diverse Democratic voters statewide or donors nationwide.
He was just the guy with the good TikToks.
Now, he’s the guy with 20 million new fans worldwide who heard Joe Rogan tell him he should run for president.
Since his appearance on the online Joe Rogan Experience, Talarico is drawing in crowds twice the size of the meeting hall, even in red-turning-purple Collin County.
Once considered the least likely Democrat to win a U.S. Senate challenge, he has now almost silenced discussion of Dallas Democrat Colin Allred.
And the media coverage didn’t stop at the state line. Or the U.S. border.
“Joe Rogan anoints a new progressive star,” The Guardian in London headlined
“Joe Rogan twists the knife on Trump as he urges liberal lawmaker to run for president,” the Daily Mail wrote.
Time magazine took note: “A Joe Rogan-Blessed Democrat? James Talarico Draws Eyes of a Party Desperate for New Leaders.”
Talarico challenged both Republicans and Christians.
He said the state is ruled by “billionaire mega-donors” like West Texas energy tycoons Tim Dunn, of Midland, and Farris Wilks, of Cisco, evangelicals who buy Texas politicians to rule the state under a rigid reading of the Bible.
And he dared Christians to test their faith by asking whether they love Judas.
“The test of Christianity is not, ‘Do you love Jesus?’ because Jesus is pretty lovable,” he told Rogan.
“The test is, ‘Do you love Judas?’ ... Now, that is radical.”
Grandson of Baptist pastor, plans to lead Presbyterian church
Talarico, the grandson of a Baptist pastor in Laredo and Corpus Christi, is a year away from finishing his studies at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary.
His Rogan interview shook up Christian writers and journalists along with politicians.
Talarico spoke to lonely young men disenchanted with religion, the generation that spends hours on adult websites, gambling or video games.
“You grow up, you have experiences, you meet new people, you’re exposed to new ideas. Suddenly, you start to question all these things that you were taught,” he said.
“Young people in particular are the ones that are asking these questions because ... [young people] have usually been the ones who have been able to think outside the box and see things anew. But it does seem like they’re waking up to how broken organized religion is.”
There’s a reason Talarico’s appearance transcended politics.
More young American men listen to Rogan every week (4-6 million) than attend church.
And that’s counting all worship services in any faith (3-6 million total across all religions).
For a generation of young men, Rogan is church.
Podcast brought new followers to Texas Democrat
Talarico’s sermons will never have a larger audience.
He spent much of the time talking about how the divide in America isn’t between liberal and conservative or Democrats and Republicans, it’s between the working class and those investing big money to control government.
He took traditional Democratic positions for abortion access, for defending transgender teenagers and against forcing teachers to hang the Ten Commandments in classrooms.
But he was more critical of the system than of either party.
“The corruption, the partisanship, the polarization, the tribalism, it’s all terrible,” he said.
At another point, he said the division in America is “run by billionaires — all of that is intentional so that we are fighting each other instead of asking hard questions about the wealthy special interests and what their agenda is.”
Rogan made headlines for telling Talarico bluntly: “You need to run for president. ... We need someone who’s actually a good person.”
Amazingly, Talarico interrupted.
“Can I actually push back on that?” he asked. “We were talking about how politics has become a religion. This is one of the ways it does, is people put all their faith in a politician.”
He is thinking about a Senate race, not a presidential run.
It may be too late to push back.
This story was originally published July 25, 2025 at 5:35 AM.
