• Democratic Texas Senate candidate James Talarico has denied being a vegan, and recent campaign posts show him ordering egg and cheese tacos in Austin; eating chicken and steak at San Antonio's Fiesta; and eating a turkey leg at the Texas State Fair.
• In a 2022 fundraiser speech, Talarico advocated for reducing meat consumption and said his Texas House reelection campaign had become a "non-meat campaign," but did not say he was a vegan.

After clinching the Republican Senate nomination on May 26, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton targeted his Democratic opponent, saying James Talarico is too extreme for Texas.

Paxton said Talarico is a vegan and a threat to the state famous for cattle, Tex-Mex and barbecue. Paxton called his opponent "the most extreme radical the Democrats have ever nominated."

"He’s a vegan who thinks God is nonbinary and that there’s actually six biological sexes," Paxton said, also calling him "Tofu Talarico."

President Donald Trump made a similar statement May 20, saying, "He’s a vegan. He’s a vegan in Texas, and you can’t get elected as a vegan in Texas."

The attack is part of a broad Republican effort to portray Talarico as holding far-left social views and being out of step with Texas voters.

But the public evidence doesn’t back up the vegan claim. Talarico has denied being a vegan multiple times and has been recently pictured eating meat and other animal products during campaign events.

"James is not and never has been a vegan or vegetarian,"...

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