Texas Senate candidate James Talarico, a Democrat, faced a week of hell thanks to the release of multiple bombshell reports about him and his allies.
The first report revealed that LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, a prominent billionaire venture capitalist, donated $10 million last month to a PAC supporting Talarico’s campaign. This is problematic because Hoffman has ties to deceased pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
“The release of the ‘Epstein files’ showed Hoffman maintained contact with Epstein after the financier pleaded guilty to soliciting a minor in 2008,” according to The Texas Tribune.
The files also revealed that “Hoffman visited Epstein’s private island in the Caribbean in 2014, which Hoffman said was to raise money for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.”
EXCLUSIVE:
Newly released FEC records show Jeffrey Epstein’s associate Reid Hoffman @reidhoffman has poured over $10 million into Lone Star Rising PAC, which is supporting Texas Democrat Senate candidate James Talarico @jamestalarico.
Hoffman reportedly visited Epstein Island… https://t.co/aNC86xyevb pic.twitter.com/r07Jgt8PmP
— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) July 16, 2026
Yet Talarico has repeatedly insisted in his attacks on Republicans that “the Epstein class has no place in Texas.” Unless, it appears, the so-called “Epstein class” is donating to one’s campaign?
In fairness, a Talarico spokesperson argued in a statement to the Tribune that the campaign “has no control over contributions to any super PAC.”
Scandal number two involves Talarico campaigning alongside and appearing on the podcast of Texas House candidate Bobby Pulido.
Pulido is a Democrat who once argued that molesting children is “not necessarily rape” after he brought convicted child sex offender and longtime friend Frankie Caballero to a middle school to perform at a concert in 2018:
Here’s Texas Dem candidate Bobby Pulido performing on stage at a middle school (cowboy hat)
Also on stage is Pulido’s accordion player Frank Caballero.
Frank is a registered sex offender who moIested a child.
This happened a few months after he was released from prison.… pic.twitter.com/h1ZZoW7OBd
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) June 23, 2026
He later posted the following on Twitter/X in defense of his longtime friend:
Child molestation is abhorrent. But is not necessarily rape or murder, what you said. My point, and Geraldo’s point, is they have been unfairly demonized. It’s like if I said that whites shouldn’t be able to buy guns because most mass shooters are white
— Bobby Pulido (@bobbypulido425) August 23, 2018
Pulido at one point tried denying that he’d known about Caballero’s past, but that turned out to be a lie.
“A musician who has worked with Pulido said Caballero’s criminal history is a ‘well-known fact,’ and that he doesn’t believe that Pulido was unaware of it,” Axios reported last month.
The last scandal involves a victim’s family who’s accused him of being a liar.
During a July 9 press conference, Talarico attacked his GOP opponent, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, by accusing him of having given an “Epstein-style sweetheart deal” to an attorney named Adam Hoffman.
This Hoffman, who’s unrelated to Reid Hoffman, is a disgraced former Waco attorney who recently pleaded guilty to sexually abusing his son’s friend for years and has been ordered to register as a sex offender in Nebraska.
During the press conference, Talarico was asked whether he’d personally spoken with Hoffman’s victim.
“Our team has been in contact,” he replied.
That too was a lie.
“Melissa Dieterich, a friend and spokesperson for the family, publicly disputed Talarico’s assertion that his team had been in contact,” according to Fox News.
On Facebook, she posted a “note from the victim’s family” in which they explicitly wrote that they had “not given any statement to Talarico.”
“We have not spoke to him,” the family continued, adding that they’re “tired of being used in this election” and “tired of lies being told by both Paxton & Talarico, tired of the divide and just tired.”
After the note was posted, a Talarico spokesperson told Fox News that his team had “facilitated outreach to offer our support and ensure the family has a way to get in touch at any time, for any reason.”
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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