By Old social media posts from Democrat Senate candidate James Talarico’s time as a public school teacher have resurfaced online, prompting criticism from Republican operatives and reigniting debate over political messaging in classrooms as the Texas liberal prepares for a high-profile U.S. Senate race.
The posts date to the 2011–2012 school year, when Talarico taught sixth-grade language arts at Jeremiah Rhodes Middle School in San Antonio. Screenshots circulated this week show classroom activities tied directly to the 2012 presidential election, including an assignment in which students wrote “Obama memoirs” from the perspective of members of the First Family after Barack Obama’s re-election victory over Mitt Romney.
“Today, we finished writing our Obama memoirs,” Talarico wrote in a Nov. 13, 2012 Facebook update. “We’ve been learning about narrative non-fiction writing like memoirs for the past 2 weeks.” He added that students wrote about election night “from the point of view of a member of the Obama family,” praising the class with the message: “Awesome job, Wildcats!”
Photos accompanying the post showed student essays displayed on a classroom wall with the word “Victory!!!!!!,” alongside images of the Obama family and the Obama campaign logo.
Other archived updates from the same period referenced additional political activities. In one, students played “debate bingo” while watching the presidential and vice-presidential debates and later discussed which candidate performed better. In another post from September 2012, Talarico encouraged students to watch the Democratic National Convention, highlighting a speech by then–San Antonio mayor Julian Castro.
“Tonight, our own San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro will give the keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention!” Talarico wrote at the time, noting Castro had grown up near the school and encouraging students to watch the address on local television.
Additional photos from the classroom showed what appeared to be a “free thinker” display wall featuring prominent public figures, including Obama, Castro, labor activist Dolores Huerta, union organizer Cesar Chavez, technology entrepreneur Bill Gates, and Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Of course, the wall has no conservatives, even though the school was in Texas.
If you notice, one person on the “free thinker” wall was J.K. Rowling, who has criticized transgenderism as an attack on women. Rowling has said that she’s received threats from transgender activists, a group that also heavily supports the Texas Democrat.
The resurfaced posts were highlighted by conservative media outlets and quickly drew criticism from Republican political figures as Talarico prepares for the November general election.
Matt Mackowiak, a senior adviser to the campaign of John Cornyn, told The Daily Wire that the posts raise concerns about partisan messaging in the classroom.
“From these Facebook posts it is clear he was pushing a partisan political message to middle school students in a deeply inappropriate way,” Mackowiak said. “It makes you wonder what he was teaching those kids in class behind closed doors.”
Talarico’s campaign did not immediately respond to requests for comment from media outlets regarding the posts, and the San Antonio Independent School District also had not issued a statement.
The controversy emerges as the Texas Senate race begins to take shape. Talarico, a former state representative who has emphasized themes of faith, compassion, and public service during his campaign, recently secured the Democratic nomination for the seat currently held by Republicans.
On the GOP side, Cornyn faces a May 26 primary runoff against Ken Paxton, with the winner advancing to the general election. Both candidates have sought to position themselves as the strongest challenger to the Democratic nominee, and political observers broadly view Texas as leaning Republican in the contest.
Still, the resurfaced posts underscore a recurring political flashpoint in American education: how, and whether, contemporary political events should enter the classroom. Critics argue such exercises risk promoting partisan viewpoints to impressionable students, while supporters often contend they are simply tools to engage students with real-world civic issues.
With the Texas Senate race already attracting national attention, the debate over those decade-old classroom posts may now follow Talarico onto the campaign trail.
[Read More: Liberals Mad Troops Get Good Meals]
