Republicans Praying for Mercy for Talarico
with Insight on After Life that Could Be Gold
Lt. Gov. Patrick Directs Texas Senate
to Expand Religious Liberty Protections
Capitol Inside
August 2, 2026
A rookie Texas Republican lawmaker implored voters on Sunday to seek mercy from the heavens for Texan James Talarico for the alleged desecration of the deity with the comments and views he's expressed on religion as the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate here this year.
"I completely agree with LG @DanPatrick," State Rep. Shelley Luther said in a post on X. "We must pray for the soul of @jamestalarico and pray that he repents and stops mocking God. God is bigger than politics."
The lieutenant governor, who chairs a special commission on religious liberty for President Donald Trump, announced at the Texas GOP Convention in Houston in June that Talarico was doomed to a date with the devil as a consequence of his rhetoric as a Senate candidate. “Let me tell you what - I’m going to pray for that guy - because when he loses the Senate race, if he campaigns against God as he’s been doing, he’s going to hell for sure," Patrick told several thousand delegates who cheered the Democrat's fate dodging flames.
You could make the case that Texas Republicans need to reserve their pleas to the almighty for their own nominee in the Senate race - state Attorney General Ken Paxton - and not simply because of all the boxes he checks when it comes to broken Ten Commandments. After felony securities fraud charges and an impeachment by Texas House Republicans amid allegations of public corruption in connection with a mistress, State Senator Angela Paxton sued the AG for divorce on biblical grounds in connection with a relationship with a different woman who is not his spouse. There was an FBI investigation into bribery accusations that former aides lodged against Paxton. And then came a whistleblower lawsuit that they filed and won after he fired them all for ratting to the feds.
But that's all old news - and Paxton's soul appears safe after a pass for forgiveness from 888,196 GOP primary voters in a runoff election in May when the AG eliminated 24-year Senate veteran John Cornyn from the competition with Trump's endorsement en route to 64 percent of the overtime vote. But Paxton clearly needs all the help from the divine that it can possibly get after a third consecutive poll on the Texas Senate race showed him running behind the allegedly godless Democrat.
Paxton's campaign took a turn last week into the valley of the shadow with a Fox News poll that showed Talarico leading him by 3 points with 51 percent support. Talarico was up on the AG in a Texas Public Opinion Research survey by 5 points two days earlier. A Wedgewood poll that was released on Saturday night found the Democrat ahead of Paxton by 2 points. Talarico - in fact - has been running first in the four more recent polls on the Texas Senate fight including the aforementioned three in the second half of July.
It would be very premature to say that Paxton doesn't have a prayer with a campaign that's floundered for a month or more. You could even say the Senate battle is anybody's to win or lose just three months before the midterm vote. But Paxton has struggled badly in the fundraising arena compared to a Democratic opponent who's been devouring records while establishing himself as one of the best there ever was in the cash chase for the U.S. Senate. Paxton's heavily dependent on a president who's approval marks have been commode-hugging at all-time lows in the second year of his second term.
But this is Texas - where the Republicans haven't lost a statewide race in 32 years or a U.S. Senate fight in 38. So Paxton is still in the hunt with a chance to keep the GOP streak intact with a surge from behind between now and November 3. Paxton will have to step up his game considerably, however, before he can win without the need for the Lord to take Talarico out.
But Patrick may have found a way to try to make a living if he loses in November because Paxton hurts all the GOP statewide nominees and other down-ballot contenders for the ruling Texas party. With Trump planning to make some extra bucks on a scheme involving early access to his social posts, Patrick may be sitting on a gold mine if he could capitalize on the advance knowledge on who will get through the pearly gates and who will be turned away like he says Talarico will be for sure.
This sort of insider wisdom and intelligence could be worth millions or more for the billionaires who Talarico keeps attacking - giving those who've strayed a shot a redemption before it's too late. The Texas Senate president might be concerned that such an enterprise could be jeopardized by the fact he has no evidence to support the claims on where people are going after they die.
It isn't clear at this point if Luther the freshman representative shares the same clairvoyant powers. Luther is an up-and-coming GOP star who made a strong and positive impression in her debut in the House early last year. Luther gained her first taste of fame as a pandemic protester whose defiance of Governor Greg Abbott's lockdown orders during the covid crisis prompted him to change the direction of the state's response 180 degrees. But after beating Abbott initially, the governor and Patrick did their dead-best to get the mojo back by opposing her bid in a special state Senate election in late 2020. Then after failing to beat the Republican power establishment titans that time around, she joined them and sought to prove her loyalty by staging a rally last week in Sherman where Abbott, Paxton and other GOP candidates appeared.
But team player or outcast, Luther doesn't have a clue where any souls are going in the after life. Neither does Patrick, Talarico, Paxton or any other human being on this planet. That's a fact. The Republicans are telling voters that Talarico hates Christianity based on his own words several years ago when he was talking about Christian nationalism like that which emerged in Nazi Germany in the 1930s.
But it's also a fact that Talarico is a Presbyterian seminarian who's going into ministry. How many folks here on Earth do you know who hate Christianity enough to become a preacher? The predictions on Talarico when he's dead are looking increasingly as a desperation Hail Mary as a result.
“It’s James Talarico who decided to bring the Bible into this election," Patrick said at the state convention in mid-June. "And let me tell you - that’s not a Bible I’ve ever read. I’ve never seen so much blasphemy from anyone running for office.
"Let me tell you what - I’m going to pray for that guy - because when he loses the Senate race, if he campaigns against God as he’s been doing, he’s going to hell for sure. That’s what we’re up against. That’s the darkness. That’s the light. That’s why we must be one.”
| 
