Past campaign job postings from Texas Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico are drawing renewed attention after records showed his political operation repeatedly urged women, racial minorities and LGBTQ applicants to seek positions on his staff.

The old listings, some dating back to Talarico’s campaigns for the Texas House, stated that “Women, people of color, and LGBTQIA+ applicants” were “strongly encouraged to apply.”

A March 2020 posting for a field organizer on Talarico’s reelection campaign listed a commitment to Democratic principles, attention to detail and an ability to organize volunteers among the qualities sought in candidates before adding the call for women, minorities and LGBTQ applicants. Another posting for two “Camp Campaign” co-directors contained the same language.

The practice continued during Talarico’s 2021 reelection campaign, when a posting seeking a field director and field organizers again said women, people of color and LGBTQ applicants were “strongly encouraged to apply.” The listing described Talarico as a lawmaker advocating “progressive values” and cited his opposition to Republican legislation on transgender issues among his accomplishments.

View the original job listings here and here

Talarico himself has publicly highlighted the demographic makeup of his staff.

“I recognize that I’m a white boy from Round Rock, and I’ve got blind spots,” Talarico said during an appearance with the Houston Black American Democrats. “And it’s why we are building a campaign team that looks like Texas.”

He added that his senior staff was “majority minority and majority women.”

Although his current Senate campaign has emphasized economic populism, progressive Christianity and appeals to voters beyond the Democratic base, his record in the Texas Legislature and previous campaigns has consistently included leftist positions on social and cultural issues.

Texas Has Moved Against DEI

The resurfaced hiring language also stands in contrast to a years-long effort by Texas Republicans to walk back DEI programs.

Gov. Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 17 in 2023, prohibiting public colleges and universities from maintaining DEI offices, requiring DEI statements or training, and giving preferential treatment on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin in employment or institutional programs. The law took effect in January 2024 and requires universities to certify their compliance to continue receiving certain state funding.

Attorney General Ken Paxton has since pursued a more ambitious campaign against DEI practices in both government and the private sector.

In January 2026, Paxton issued a sweeping legal opinion concluding that race- and sex-based preferences in Texas government violate constitutional equal-protection guarantees. The opinion also argued that some private sector DEI practices can create liability under federal and Texas civil rights laws, including Title VII, Section 1981 and the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act.

Paxton has paired that legal position with investigations and warnings directed at institutions and corporations. His office opened an investigation in April into whether the University of North Texas was continuing DEI practices prohibited by state law. The following month, he warned CVS that its supplier diversity program — which included preferences for minority, women and LGBT-owned businesses — could violate state and federal civil rights laws.

His office has also warned major financial institutions including BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup and Morgan Stanley that DEI programs involving unlawful quotas could expose them to enforcement actions.

That makes the philosophical divide over DEI particularly relevant to the Senate contest between Talarico and Paxton. Talarico’s old campaign materials explicitly encouraged applicants from particular demographic groups and he later celebrated building a staff that was “majority minority and majority women.” Paxton, meanwhile, has made opposition to DEI a significant component of his work as attorney general.