James Talarico (D-Texas) spent two months hiding behind a girlfriend to make questions about his personal life go away. Now, he may be in big trouble.
A couple of months ago, shortly after Republicans started mocking the Texas Democrat with the nickname "Low-T Talarico," his Senate campaign suddenly identified his girlfriend — and yes, that’s not a typo. Her name is Brianna Menard, and she’s a far-left lobbyist. His campaign insisted the romance with Menard began only after she left his employ.
Well, they were lying.
The campaign has now admitted, after months of denial, that the relationship began while Menard was still working for Talarico in his Texas House office, an admission that raises serious ethical questions about his conduct as an elected official.
Wow
— Zach Kraft (@ZachKraft7) August 6, 2026
After denying for months that he engaged in an inappropriate relationship with his chief of staff while she worked for him, James Talarico admits to the New York Times they began dating while he was paying her. pic.twitter.com/fcglrW8NsH
Menard worked on Talarico's Texas House staff from March 2020 to January 2023 before leaving to become chief of staff for fellow Democrat state Rep. Salman Bhojani (D-Texas). Talarico's campaign originally claimed the relationship only started after Menard moved into that new job.
There are also concerns about how she got the job, because, you see, Talarico used his position as a state legislator to help Menard secure that taxpayer-funded chief-of-staff job. In fact, Bhojani told the Texas Tribune he hired Menard after Talarico personally emailed him to recommend her, and Bhojani said Talarico reached out shortly after his own election to help arrange the hire.
Menard now lobbies for the Texas Medical Association, and TexasLobby.org lists abortion policy among her areas of focus. "After they developed feelings for each other, she left the office to pursue other opportunities and have been together ever since," the San Antonio Current reported, describing the campaign's account of the relationship's start. That framing always sounded too clean. Now we know why.
In a podcast interview in June, Talarico falsely claimed that Menard left his office only after the two "developed feelings for each other," and said at the time that he didn't want to reveal her identity. He lied really easily about it too.
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The Talarico campaign has now confirmed to the New York Times that the relationship actually began while Menard was still working for him, validating every ethical concern Republicans have been raising.
Yet it still gets worse.
Menard wasn't the only one. An earlier relationship involved a different staffer in another office before Menard ever came along. Don’t ask me if it’s a guy or a girl. I have no idea.
"James Talarico needs to be transparent with Texans about how many staffers he has been inappropriate with, including interns," Republican National Committee spokesman Zach Kraft said in June. "Every Texas Democrat should be asked if they think it is acceptable for elected officials to pursue romantic relationships with their staff and interns."
That's a fair question, especially now, and Talarico's campaign should have to answer it before a single Texan casts a vote. An inappropriate relationship with a staffer is a serious problem on its own. Lying to Texas voters about it for months is an entirely separate scandal, and it's one Talarico built for himself.
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