Resurfaced 2020 video shows Texas Senate candidate Talarico calling end to 'over-policing' a 'really exciting' opportunity

Unearthed clips from a September 2020 Zoom call show Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico telling members of South Asian American Voter Empowerment that ending what he described as "over-policing communities of color" was "really exciting," a statement that complicates the pro-police platform Talarico has built in a Texas Senate race that recent polling shows is tied between him and Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton.

What the recording shows

On the SAAVETX call, Talarico said policymakers needed to "listen to black voices and to the activists in the streets calling for a radically different vision of public safety." He said he wanted to convene participants ranging from activists to law enforcement officials for discussions on fundamental changes to the criminal justice system. He described communities reinvesting limited public funding into "community-based solutions" as "really exciting."

Talarico praised Austin for approving a budget that cut tens of millions of dollars from the Austin Police Department. He called Gov. Greg Abbott "hypocritical" for threatening to pull revenue from cities that reduced police funding. Abbott had said Austin's move "paves the way for lawlessness" and vowed financial penalties for any Texas city that defunded its police.

On the same call, Talarico accused Republicans of trying to "scare white people to win an election," calling that "a time-honored tradition in the Republican Party." He said police violence against communities of color "has its roots in slavery and Jim Crow and mass incarceration."

Race stakes and Talarico's current position

A Democratic win in Texas would mark the first such Senate flip in decades and would pressure the Republican Party's hold on the Senate majority.

Talarico has positioned himself recently as a moderate who supports law enforcement. Campaign spokesperson JT Ennis said Talarico "opposes defunding the police, has voted to deny bail for violent criminals, and has a record of sending billions of dollars to support law enforcement," and that Talarico "supports a secure southern border." Ennis previously called the defund characterization a "flat out lie."

Republican response

Republican National Committee spokesperson Zach Kraft called Talarico a "dangerous freak" and alleged his positions would "put families in danger." Madison Cercy, speaking for Paxton's campaign, said Talarico "donated thousands of dollars to an organization that supported defunding the police" and that a vote on a general spending bill did not constitute support for law enforcement.

"Just because he votes on a basic spending bill like every other state representative does not mean he has ever 'supported law enforcement,'" Cercy said. Fox News Digital reached out to SAAVETX for comment.