adminU.S. Senate candidate James Talarico is back in the headlines after a resurfaced video shows him warmly welcoming activists from Third Act — a group that has publicly pushed to block new LNG terminals and pressure banks to divest from fossil fuels. Conservatives have seized the clip and are using it to argue Talarico would side with activists instead of Texas energy workers. The clip is a political grenade, and voters deserve to know what he really believes about Texas energy, jobs, and national security.
What the video shows
The short clip shows Talarico, when he was a state representative, praising Third Act organizers and calling their work “important.” Third Act is a national climate organizing group that has run Stop‑LNG and divestment campaigns along the Gulf Coast for years. Talarico’s campaign insists his platform supports Texas as an energy leader and promises to grow clean‑energy jobs while protecting the grid and reliability. That public position does not easily square with applauding activists whose stated mission includes shutting down or blocking fossil‑fuel projects.
Why this matters for Texas energy and jobs
Texas runs on energy. Oil, gas, and LNG exports power jobs, local economies, and parts of the national balance of trade. When a Senate candidate is shown celebrating groups that push to stop LNG terminals and choke financing for fossil‑fuel projects, it raises a simple question: will he defend the people who fill those jobs or help the people trying to end them? Voters who work in the industry, or who live in towns tied to pipelines and terminals, aren’t interested in clever spin. They want clarity and straight answers about whether a candidate will protect their livelihoods.
Political context and credibility
This resurfaced clip is useful political ammunition. Opponents will run it nonstop, and for good reason: it ties a candidate to a campaign that explicitly targets the energy economy. Third Act’s Stop‑LNG strategy is not a secret; activists have been pushing banks and regulators for years. Talarico’s team says he backed LNG legislation in the Texas legislature, but voters will judge whether that is genuine or convenient. If you applaud people trying to shut down an industry one year and claim to defend its workers the next, you’ve just invented a new kind of political yoga — and Texans don’t buy flexible principles.
Bottom line
Voters deserve a clear answer. Talarico should say plainly whether he supports Third Act’s Stop‑LNG and divestment goals, or whether his applause was political theater. The Senate race in Texas will turn on energy, jobs, and trust. If he wants Texas moderates and energy workers to believe him, he needs to stop dodging and start explaining. Otherwise, expect the clip to be a mainstay in campaign ads — and expect Texans who feed their families with energy paychecks to vote accordingly.
