In a scathing video Monday, former U.S. Rep. Colin Allred ripped state Rep. James Talarico for allegedly calling him a “mediocre Black man” and urged voters to support U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, Talarico’s opponent in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate.
Allred’s comments came after Morgan Thompson, a political content creator with the TikTok handle @morga_tt, posted a now-viral video alleging that, in a one-on-one conversation with Talarico on Jan. 12, the Austin Democrat told her he signed up to run against “a mediocre Black man,” referring to Allred, and “not a formidable, intelligent Black woman.” Allred was Talarico’s main rival in the Senate primary until the former Dallas congressman dropped his bid in December as Crockett was preparing to enter the race.
In a statement, Talarico called the allegation a “mischaracterization of a private conversation,” acknowledging he described Allred’s “method of campaigning” as “mediocre,” but not his “life and service.”
