In a significant move in the Texas U.S. Senate race, a super PAC supporting Ted Cruz has initiated a statewide advertising campaign in Spanish on streaming platforms. This effort, which involves an investment of seven figures, is focused on targeting Democratic candidate James Talarico.
The Truth and Courage PAC’s latest advertisement is directed at Hispanic Christians and criticizes Talarico for previous remarks regarding gender and sexuality. The ad features Spanish narration, complemented by translated text that accompanies brief clips of Talarico’s statements.
Among the highlighted quotes is Talarico’s assertion that “God is nonbinary” and his claim that there are “six biological sexes.” These remarks have been circulated by Republicans for several months, with the ad warning voters that Talarico is a “lobo disfrazado de oveja,” or “wolf in sheep’s clothing.”
Talarico, who represents Austin, has described some of his past comments on social issues as “cringey” and acknowledged they may have missed the mark. During a recent town hall on CNN, he explained that his intention was to convey that God transcends human categorizations like gender, admitting that his approach was deliberately provocative and that he is still learning how to present these ideas responsibly as a seminary student.
The advertisement from Truth and Courage PAC contends that Talarico does not align with Christian values. “Talarico is spending millions of dollars to convince you he’s a moderate politician,” the narrator states in Spanish. “But his own words unmask him. We pray ‘Our Father.’ Talarico says God is non-binary.”
The messaging mirrors the sentiments expressed by Cruz regarding Talarico. Over the summer, Cruz described Talarico on the Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show as “dangerous,” noting his charm and smooth demeanor while labeling him a “hard left-wing zealot.” Cruz remarked that he prefers “wolves” to appear as such rather than disguise themselves.
The influence of Hispanic voters is expected to be crucial in the Senate race, as well as in other congressional contests. Recent elections have seen Republicans, including Cruz, make significant inroads among Latino voters. In the 2024 election, for instance, President Donald Trump secured victories in 11 out of 13 heavily Hispanic border counties, with Cruz winning eight.
However, current polling suggests that Hispanic Texans may revert to supporting Democrats, who have historically garnered a large majority of this demographic’s votes. The extent of this potential shift and its geographical variations could be pivotal for the electoral prospects of Ken Paxton and other Republicans.
In his successful 2024 Senate campaign, Cruz made substantial investments to appeal to the Hispanic electorate. He executed a predominantly Spanish-language media campaign in July, airing Spanish ads across all 20 of the state’s media markets and launching bilingual outreach efforts in the Rio Grande Valley.
While Republicans have heavily invested in advertising in Texas to support Paxton, a mere fraction has been allocated for Spanish-language ads. Out of nearly $240 million spent by Republicans on television, radio, and digital platforms in the Senate race, only $3.5 million—around 1.5 percent—was directed towards Spanish advertising, according to AdImpact. In contrast, Democrats have invested $5.3 million in Spanish-language ads, representing approximately 5.4 percent of their total expenditure.
Paxton’s campaign has allocated a six-figure budget for an ad in South Texas that includes a few Spanish phrases, utilizing a play on Talarico’s name to critique his economic policies, but has predominantly focused on English in its advertisements.
Prior to this new Spanish-language initiative, Truth and Courage PAC had already committed $2 million to support Ken Paxton through earlier advertisements, one of which targeted Talarico’s connections to Chinese land holdings in Texas.
