Why are evangelicals freaking out over James Talarico?

This article originally appeared at Baptist News Global on March 12, 2026.

He’s being called “Pastor Pornhub” and “the living embodiment of Satan on earth” by Christians on the religious and political right. So who is this terrifying figure?

Is he a Dallas megachurch pastor who had to step aside for a “restoration process” after some sexually deviant scandal? Is he someone named in the Epstein Files?

No. The person conservatives are outraged about is Texas Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate James Talarico.

Digital creator Michael Smith, who has 39,000 followers on Facebook, is the one who posted this: “I’ve called Texas Democrat James Talarico ‘Pastor Pornhub’ because if I could create the living embodiment of Satan on earth, he would look just like Talarico, a leftist caricature of a Christian, smug, self-righteous and generously quoting Bible verses to justify his political positions. The problem is not so much quoting of the Bible, but the heretical interpretations of those verses because Pastor Pornhub is a ‘progressive’ Christian, which is to say he is not a Christian at all.”

In addition to Smith’s invective, here are some of the accusations launched at Talarico from right-wing influencers.

• “Straight up demonic” — podcaster Benny Johnson
• “False teacher” — Newsmax host Greg Kelly
• “Blasphemer” — Newsmax host David Harris Jr.
• “Fundamentally unserious … insulting” — Fox News host Laura Ingraham
• “Blasphemous” — Fox News host Sean Hannity
• “Creepy looking heretic and fake pastor … completely insane.” — Daily Wire host Matt Walsh
• “Authority of God-denying false teacher” — Covenant Baptist Church pastor Jeff Wiesner
• “100% wolf in sheep’s clothing” — Crosspoint Community Church pastor Lance Shumake
• “Deception and surrender” — Southern Baptist Theological Seminary president Al Mohler

Such accusations are ratcheting up as Talarico gets closer to the possibility of winning a seat in the U.S. Senate for the Democrats in Texas. He would be the first Democrat to do so since Lloyd Bentsen won reelection in 1988.

What makes the story even more interesting is that Talarico is a Presbyterian minister and seminarian. On the campaign trail, he talks about the Bible a lot.

“James Talarico’s statement that there is ‘something happening in Texas’ is absolutely true, but is it for the better? Decidedly not,” apologist and American Family Radio host Alex McFarland declared. “Talarico’s faith-based bid to flip Texas to the Democratic Party is nothing more than a plot to persuade Texas Christians to give him a vote. The great state of Texas is tragically becoming less Christian by the day, and ultimate opportunist Talarico is capitalizing on this dip in faith by muddying the water and ultimately creating a brand-new religion based on this ‘progressive’ Christ.

The intensity of these attacks raises an obvious question: Why does a relatively young Texas legislator provoke this level of panic from some of the most powerful voices in conservative media and evangelical leadership? The answer may have less to do with theology than with political strategy.

While many Christians on the Right are working overtime to delegitimize Talarico, many Christians on the Left are stridently defending him.

What’s most interesting to me is what Talarico’s story says about us.

James Talarico speaks at a campaign rally (Photo provided by Talarico for Senate campaign)

‘Church vocabulary’ with a ‘different moral architecture’

“I’m not living up to the radical teachings of Jesus Christ,” Talarico admitted on the “Politics War Room” podcast with James Carville and Al Hunt. “But I do think that, 2,000 years later, he is still pushing us to be better neighbors, to look out for the poor, the marginalized, the oppressed, the vulnerable, to stand up to powerful people.”

Continue reading at Baptist News Global.