Texas Senate Democratic nominee James Talarico is facing scrutiny over social media posts from his time as a teacher in a public middle school, including assignments in which students were instructed to write \u201cObama memoirs\u201d and encouraged to watch the Democratic National Convention.<\/p>\n
Facebook posts reviewed by The Daily Wire from Talarico\u2019s teacher page during the 2011-2012 school year show the then-sixth-grade language arts instructor incorporating his own political perspectives at Jeremiah Rhodes Middle School in San Antonio.<\/p>\n
In a November 13, 2012, post, days after President Barack Obama defeated Republican Mitt Romney, Talarico posted<\/a>: \u201cToday, we finished writing our Obama memoirs. We\u2019ve been learning about narrative non-fiction writing like memoirs for the past 2 weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cStudents wrote a memoir of Election Night from the point of view of a member of the Obama family. Awesome job, Wildcats!\u201d he added. A photo accompanying the post showed a student essay beneath the word, \u201cVictory!!!!!!\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Texas Senate Democratic nominee James Talarico had his students write \u201cObama memoirs.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n In another post<\/a>, Talarico highlighted the student memoirs on a classroom wall alongside images of the Obama family and the Obama campaign logo.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Talarico\u2019s wall of \u201cObama memoirs.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Other posts show students participating in \u201cdebate bingo\u201d during the presidential and vice presidential debates and being asked which candidate they thought won.<\/p>\n On September 4, 2012, Talarico encouraged<\/a> his students to watch then-San Antonio Democratic Mayor Julian Castro deliver the keynote address at the DNC.<\/p>\n \u201cTonight, our own San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro will give the keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention!\u201d Talarico wrote. \u201cMayor Castro grew up near Rhodes Middle School although he went to Tafolla MS. You can watch his speech tonight at 9pm on WOAI or KENS 5.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Talarico encouraging his students to watch then-San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro\u2019s speech at the 2012 Democratic National Convention.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Photos from the classroom also show a \u201cfree thinker\u201d wall featuring public figures including Obama, Castro, leftist activist Dolores Huerta, Cesar Chavez, Bill Gates, and Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, and various writers and artists, according to a September 2011 post<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Talarico\u2019s \u201cfree thinker\u201d wall highlighting numerous liberal leaders.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The Daily Wire reached out to Talarico\u2019s campaign and the San Antonio Independent School District for comment.<\/p>\n Republicans have commented on the resurfaced posts.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom these Facebook posts it is clear he was pushing a partisan political message to middle school students in a deeply inappropriate way,\u201d said Matt Mackowiak, a senior advisor to incumbent Sen. John Cornyn\u2019s campaign. \u201cIt makes you wonder what he was teaching those kids in class behind closed doors.\u201d<\/p>\n Cornyn and Attorney General Ken Paxton are headed to a May 26 runoff in the Republican primary, as both campaigns hope to earn the endorsement of President Donald Trump. The winner will face Talarico in November. The Cook Political Report currently rates the general election as \u201cLikely Republican.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"Texas](\"https:\/\/dw-wp-production.imgix.net\/2026\/03\/Screenshot-2026-03-12-at-8.57.19-AM-300x166.png\")
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<\/p>\n![\"Talarico](\"https:\/\/dw-wp-production.imgix.net\/2026\/03\/Screenshot-2026-03-12-at-8.56.54-AM-300x170.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"Talarico\u2019s](\"https:\/\/dw-wp-production.imgix.net\/2026\/03\/Screenshot-2026-03-12-at-8.55.48-AM-300x126.png\")
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