Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said James Talarico, the young Texas Democratic nominee for Senate, is going to Hell because of his progressive interpretation of the Bible and Christian religion.
“It’s James Talarico who decided to bring the Bible into this election. And let me tell you, that’s not a Bible I’ve ever read,” Patrick said at the Republican Party of Texas convention on Friday. “I’ve never seen so much blasphemy from anyone running for office. Let me tell you what, I’m going to pray for that guy, because when he loses the Senate race, if he campaigns against God as he’s been doing, he’s going to Hell for sure. That’s what we’re up against. That’s the darkness. That’s the light. That’s why we must be one.”
Patrick, who is running for reelection, spoke at the convention in Houston, Texas, where he trashed Talarico, the Democratic Texas House representative who has defended controversial views within the Christian faith, like abortion, gay marriage and transgender rights. Patrick called Talarico and the Democratic party “crazy.”
Talarico responded to Patrick, writing Friday on X, “For decades, Dan Patrick has sold out the poor, the sick, and the vulnerable to enrich his donors. Love feels like blasphemy when you worship power.”
At the beginning of Patrick’s speech, he said he wants to be remembered for standing for Jesus, adding that the country is in a “battle” between “darkness and light.”
“And the other side, they’re living in darkness,” Patrick said, referring to Democrats.
He also said he doesn’t understand the critique of Christian nationalism.
“That means I love God and I love America, and if that’s what a Christian nationalist is, here I am,” Patrick said to roaring applause.
Talarico, however, has been outspokenly critical of Christian nationalism, saying “there is nothing Christian about Christian nationalism.”
“It is the worship of power in the name of Christ, and it is a betrayal of Jesus of Nazareth,” Talarico said during a February appearance on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”
