Johnny Garcia, the Democratic nominee in Texas’s 35th District, is facing questions for omitting a public endorsement from state lawmaker James Talarico on his campaign endorsements page, even after publicly celebrating the nod and weeks of press coverage.
Johnny Garcia is the Democratic nominee for Texas’s 35th District and faces scrutiny over the way his campaign has presented endorsements. His endorsements page lists several high-profile Democrats, but a significant backer who publicly praised him is missing. That absence has opponents and Republicans pointing to inconsistency and political calculation.
The campaign’s endorsements page highlights names like Pete Buttigieg, Greg Casar, Lloyd Doggett, Wendy Davis, and Javier Salazar. Those listings create the impression of a wide network of support from established liberal figures. Yet the absence of James Talarico stands out given the timing and publicity around his support.
James Talarico’s endorsement arrived publicly on May 21, just days before Garcia won his primary runoff. Garcia acknowledged that backing and wrote that Talarico’s “trust and support in this race means the world to our team.” He also posted about the endorsement on Instagram early the morning of the runoff, celebrating the high-profile nod.
The endorsements page itself was built and visible starting on May 17, four days before that May 21 announcement, which raises a straightforward question: why was a public endorsement omitted after being promoted? More than 72 days after earning what campaign materials and others called a radical progressive stamp of approval, Talarico’s name does not appear on Garcia’s public endorsements list.
Republicans see the omission as evidence Garcia is trying to manage his message ahead of a competitive general election. NRCC Spokesman Christian Martinez leveled a blunt critique and said, “Johnny Garcia’s judgment is every bit as rotten as the records he spent years defending,”NRCC Spokesman Christian Martinez told Townhall. “Garcia knows his record and radical allies are toxic, so he’s desperately trying to bury both. If this is what we caught, what else is Johnny Garcia hiding from Texas families?”
Those lines feed into a narrative the Republican opponent, Carlos De La Cruz, is selling on the campaign trail: Garcia is trying to distance himself from a hyper-progressive record as the general election approaches. De La Cruz has characterized Garcia bluntly as “a liberal in a cowboy hat,” and he has used the missing endorsement to press that case with voters.
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De La Cruz delivered pointed quotes that echo the campaign’s broader argument about contrasts in values. “100 percent he’s trying to distance himself,” De La Cruz told Townhall. “There are a lot of people that don’t share the same values that Talarico has been spouting, whether it has to do with there being six genders or that God is non-binary.”
He doubled down on the message about future voting behavior and accountability, placing the spotlight on past alliances. “My opponent has already campaigned with Talarico and he’s going to have to answer to the voters for that,” De La Cruz added. “But make no mistake, if he gets into office, he is going to vote in lockstep with the liberal side of his party.”
The omission also invites scrutiny about campaign transparency and the choice to promote or suppress certain endorsements based on political convenience. Voters who pay attention to endorsements expect consistency: either an endorsement is embraced publicly or it isn’t, and changing that posture raises questions about motives in the run-up to a swing-seat contest.
TX-35 is widely viewed as a key race this cycle, and both sides recognize its national implications. A De La Cruz victory would provide a tangible boost to Republican hopes of holding the House heading into the second half of President Donald Trump’s term, which explains the intensity of the messaging and the focus on every aspect of Garcia’s record and alliances.
At stake is trust and clarity for voters in a district that can decide control in Washington. Campaign chores like how endorsements are displayed may seem small, but in a tight election they become trophies and talking points for both parties as they make the case to an often persuadable electorate.
