Talarico answers GOP vegan taunts with large platter of barbecue and a jab at Paxton

After weeks of Republican taunts that he’s a vegan, Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico sat down Tuesday to a platter piled with brisket, ribs, sausage and brisket boudin.

Then he dug in.

“It’s so good,” Talarico said at Smokey Joe’s BBQ in Oak Cliff. “I’m from Central Texas where there is great barbecue, but they don’t have anything on Oak Cliff.”

The lunch stop at Smokey Joe’s was equal parts meal and message.

Talarico’s taste in food has become an unlikely campaign issue in his Senate race against Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton. 

Republicans have mocked him as a vegan and culturally out of step with Texas, an attack that gained traction after Talarico joined former President Barack Obama at Austin’s Taco Joint last month.

Talarico, a state representative from Austin, ordered two potato, egg and cheese breakfast tacos, which an employee later said was his usual order.

“He’s a vegan and you can’t get elected as a vegan in Texas,” President Donald Trump said.

Gov. Greg Abbott wrote on X, “Potato egg and cheese? Homi is not beating the vegetarian allegations.”

Talarico repeatedly has said he is not a vegan, though he has added there’s nothing wrong with that. His campaign has spent days pushing back on the GOP jabs.

Tuesday, he offered a highly visible rebuttal at Smokey Joe’s, joined by state Sen. Royce West of Dallas. The large meat platter included Texas Twinkies, bacon-wrapped jalapeño pepper stuffed with cream cheese and chopped smoked brisket. 

Talarico dismissed the vegan attacks as a distraction.

“Ken Paxton doesn’t have anything to run on,” he said. “He doesn’t have solutions to lower people’s costs or unrig this economy, so all he’s got is name-calling.”

Asked whether being vegan was a problem in Texas politics, Talarico turned the criticism back on Paxton.

“What’s bad is lying,” he said. “And there’s a very clear public record of me loving Texas barbecue.”

The stop also served a policy purpose. Talarico used it to highlight rising beef prices, saying the increase is squeezing both Texas families and barbecue restaurants.

The night before, he took his campaign to Collin County, hoping to win over the independents, moderates and disaffected Republicans he needs to compete statewide.

At the Plano Event Center, Talarico invoked Paxton’s legal and ethical controversies, calling his GOP rival the “most corrupt politician in America” and accusing him of putting personal gain ahead of Texans.

“Ken Paxton’s mugshot was taken just a few miles from here at the Collin County courthouse,” Talarico said as a huge crowd cheered and waved signs. “If Ken Paxton will sell out his own friends for a quick buck, what makes you think he won’t sell you out in the United States Senate?”

He was referring to Paxton’s 2015 securities fraud indictment. Prosecutors accused him of soliciting investors for a McKinney technology company without disclosing he was being paid to promote its stock. The felony charges were ultimately dismissed after Paxton agreed to pay about $270,000 in restitution and perform community service.