Texas voters get ‘Are you white?’ political texts targeting James Talarico

Several viewers reached out to NBC Dallas-Fort Worth after receiving text messages asking them, “Are you white?” The messages then claim James Talarico called white men “America’s top terror threat” and direct recipients to a political attack website paid for by the American Political Action Committee.

The text messages and attack site reference a comment made by Talarico after a mass shooting in which he said, “Radicalized white men are the greatest domestic terrorist threat in our country.” Talarico was referencing a Department of Homeland Security report released during the first Trump administration that described white supremacist extremists as the “most persistent and lethal” threat among domestic violent extremists.

Talarico ally Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth, described the texts as a throwback to the racial politics of the 1980s and 1990s.

Veasey said he believes the messages are an effort to appeal to voters who are frustrated over issues including the war and high prices.

“They’re upset about the war, they’re upset about these high prices,” Veasey said.

SMU political science professor Matthew Wilson said the texts are likely to be just the beginning as outside groups pour money into the competitive U.S. Senate race.

“You’re seeing people increasingly spend across state lines and try to shape the balance of power, in whichever races they think are most hotly contested and most potentially winnable,” Wilson said.

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As for the American Political Action Committee, or AMERIPAC, Federal Election Commission records show the Bellevue, Washington-based group has been registered with the agency since 1980.

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The group’s website identifies longtime conservative and Second Amendment advocate Alan Gottlieb as its founder. NBC Dallas-Fort Worth reached out to Gottlieb and the group’s treasurer for comment and has not heard back.

A key to understanding these messages is the 2010 Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which allowed corporations and unions to spend unlimited amounts advocating for or against candidates, as long as that spending is independent of the candidates’ campaigns.

The messages are an example of independent political spending, which allows outside groups to spend money advocating for or against candidates without coordinating with their campaigns. The 2010 Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission expanded the ability of corporations and unions to fund that kind of political speech.