Johnny Garcia, the Democrat nominee for the race in Texas’s 35th District, appears to be hiding an endorsement from one of the most radical progressive in Texas.
Garcia’s endorsements page proudly features numerous prominent Democrats, including Pete Buttigieg, Greg Casar, Lloyd Doggett, Wendy Davis, and Javier Salazar. One notable individual is missing, however: James Talarico.
Talarico’s endorsement of Garcia dates back to May 21, just days before Garcia would win his primary run-off. Garcia stated that Talarico’s “trust and support in this race means the world to our team” and would brag about having bagged the high-profile endorsement on Instagram on the morning of the run-off.
I am incredibly honored to receive the endorsement of @jamestalarico for my campaign in #TX35!
— Johnny Garcia For Congress (@johnnygarciatx) May 21, 2026
Talarico has been a tireless champion for public education, working families, and real accountability in Texas. Having his trust and support in this race means the world to our team.… pic.twitter.com/DjDRXzNix4
Despite his apparent love for Talarico’s support and after 72 days of earning the radical progressive stamp of approval, Talarico is nowhere to be found on Garcia’s endorsements page. Records indicate that the endorsements page was built and displayed publicly starting on May 17, just four days prior to having publicly received the endorsement. Still, more than two months later, Garcia’s campaign has refused to publicize Talarico support on their website.
“Johnny Garcia's judgment is every bit as rotten as the records he spent years defending,”NRCC Spokesman Christian Martinez told Townhall. “Garcia knows his record and radical allies are toxic, so he’s desperately trying to bury both. If this is what we caught, what else is Johnny Garcia hiding from Texas families?”
Garcia’s Republican opponent Carlos De La Cruz says that Garcia is trying to run from Talarico’s hyper-progressive agenda in hopes of moderating ahead of the November midterms, but maintains that Garcia is “a liberal in a cowboy hat.”
“100 percent he’s trying to distance himself,” De La Cruz told Townhall. “There are a lot of people that don’t share the same values that Talarico has been spouting, whether it has to do with there being six genders or that God is non-binary.”
“My opponent has already campaigned with Talarico and he’s going to have to answer to the voters for that,” De La Cruz added. “But make no mistake, if he gets into office, he is going to vote in lockstep with the liberal side of his party.”
The tight race in TX-35 is shaping up to be one of the most watched in the country as a De La Cruz victory would provide a substantial boost in Republican hopes of maintaining control over the House heading into the second half of President Donald Trump’s term.