James Talarico defends controversial 2020 tweets on racism Democratic Texas state Rep. James Talarico discussed his controversial tweets from 2020 referring to racism as a "virus" that was spread by White people. NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles! Texas Senate candidate and rising Democratic star James Talarico was asked about some of his past controversial tweets as he continues to campaign in the Lone Star State. Talarico took part in a special " Raging Moderates " panel on Saturday