A conservative political action committee is targeting Texas Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico with a new Independence Day ad highlighting resurfaced remarks in which he described the Stars and Stripes as a “complicated symbol.”
The ad, released Thursday by Lone Star Liberty PAC, comes as the race continues to intensify ahead of November.
The spot contrasts Talarico’s comments with footage of Americans waving the American flag before concluding with the message: “It’s not complicated. It’s 250 years of freedom.”
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Lone Star Liberty spokesperson Gregg Keller said the ad reflects what the organization views as a broader pattern in Talarico’s political record.
“It’s clear from James Talarico’s political record he hates America,” Keller told Fox News Digital.
“Talarico’s gone out of his way his entire political career to make that clear: whether it’s saying the American flag is a ‘complicated symbol’ or his attacks on the Bible and the American family,” he added.
“We think it’s important Texans realize this Independence Day what the stakes in this election are: an America-loving patriot, Ken Paxton, or an America-laster, James Talarico,” Keller said.
The criticism stems from a resurfaced sermon in which Talarico discussed national symbols and their meaning.
“I often think, when reclaiming symbols, I think about the American flag,” Talarico said. “I think the Confederate flag is a symbol of treason and terrorism. But the American flag is such a complicated symbol for most of us.”
He continued by comparing the flag to Christian symbolism.
“In many ways, like Jesus, like the cross, it’s been co-opted and, in some ways, its true meaning has been betrayed,” Talarico said.
Talarico’s campaign rejected the PAC’s characterization of those remarks.
Campaign spokesman JT Ennis told Fox News Digital that Talarico believes the flag represents “freedom, opportunity, and hope,” while arguing that many Texans feel those ideals are being undermined by the current political system.
He also shifted the focus to Paxton, criticizing the Republican nominee over ethics allegations and claiming he had become wealthy while serving in public office.
A former middle school teacher, Presbyterian seminarian and current state representative, Talarico emerged as the Democratic nominee earlier this year after defeating Rep. Jasmine Crockett in the party’s Senate primary.
Since then, Republicans have repeatedly highlighted several resurfaced comments from speeches, sermons and interviews, including remarks in which Talarico said he “hates Christianity,” described God as “nonbinary,” and argued that “radicalized white men are the greatest domestic terrorist threat in our country.”
Democratic strategist Eric Koch argued the latest attack is unlikely to resonate with voters.
“This attack is going to fall flat for a very simple reason: James is a red-blooded American, an eighth-generation Texan who was a teacher, preaches across the state, studies the Bible, and served his community in the legislature,” Koch told Fox News Digital.
His listed “credentials” don’t change the fact that his preaching style, biblical interpretations, and general politics are vastly different than what many Texans consider acceptable or standard.
Koch also dismissed the ad as an attempt to distract from Paxton’s controversies.
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