It has been revealed that James Talarico, the Democrat candidate for the U.S. Senate in Texas, is not lying about having a girlfriend despite what many would understandably believe. Townhall has discovered some inconsistencies with the story that Talarico and his campaign would like you to believe, however.
Current Revolt’s Tony Ortiz managed to break another gem after he reported that Talarico’s secret girlfriend is none other than his former chief of staff Brianna Menard. Photos acquired by Townhall show the pair in attendance at a Dallas wedding in 2024, with Talarico appearing in the third row on the left and Menard attending as a bridesmaid.
Current Revolt has obtained the name and details of the girlfriend of Democratic Texas Senate candidate James Talarico.
— Tony Ortiz (Current Revolt) (@CurrentRevolt) May 29, 2026
You can read it here: https://t.co/jXz5oENDmu pic.twitter.com/GrNUCuSP0V
While Talarico publicly suggested that he and Menard did not begin dating until she left her role and that they have been together for four years, Menard’s LegiStorm profile reveals that she departed Talarico’s office in January 2023, or just three and a half years ago, indicating that the relationship may have begun while Menard was working under Talarico.
To further complicate the matter, Menard departed Talarico’s office to take a role as the chief of staff in the office of Salman Bhojani. Bhojani publicly indicated that he had hired Menard at the urging of Talarico, who personally emailed the incoming legislator to help her secure a tax-payer funded position. Bhojani's statement comes from an interview with the Texas Tribune that was published on December 9 of 2022.
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A 2022 Texas Tribune interview with Salman Bhojani reveals that James Talarico used his position to secure a taxpayer-funded job for his soon-to-be girlfriend Brianna Menard. The Talarico campaign has acknowledged that Menard left his staff so that they could date. pic.twitter.com/V0t2LRAL1r
— Joe Chalfant (@JoeChalfant) May 30, 2026
The Talarico campaign, through speaking with the San Antonio Current, has attempted to portray the shady move in a different way. "After they developed feelings for each other, she left the office to pursue other opportunities and have been together ever since," Michael Karlis of the Current wrote. Still, the phrasing from Karlis when viewed in light of Bhojani's statement indicates that Talarico used his position to facilitate a job for his girlfriend for his personal gain.
A post on X from Talarico was found congratulating Menard on being placed in Bhojani’s office in 2023. Another post from the Texas Freedom Network shows the two seated together at a “Capitol Read-In” in July of 2022.
Brianna Menard helped elect Salman Bhojani—the first Muslim member of the Texas Legislature—and is now his Chief of Staff. Follow her at @BriannaMenard
— James Talarico (@jamestalarico) January 10, 2023
Holly McDonald now handles scheduling for the first woman President Pro Tem of the US Senate! Follow her at @hollypmcd
Thank you to @jamestalarico and staff for joining our Capitol Read-In! We can count on Rep. Talarico to protect Texas classrooms #TeachtheTruth 📚 pic.twitter.com/u79EyxJjgm
— Texas Freedom Network (@TFN) July 26, 2022
Menard’s social media presence seems to be largely scrubbed from the Internet, as the account from Talarico’s 2023 congratulatory post has now been deleted. An Instagram account previously associated with Menard has also been removed. Video of one post acquired by Townhall showed Menard singing a somewhat erotic poem about a mystery individual entitled "Migas." It is unclear if the person in reference is Talarico. The video was posted in March of 2022, after she had been working in Talarico's office for some months and shortly before her boss would secure an alternative position for her so that they could openly begin a relationship. The post falls along the four-year timeline that Talarico had initially offered when first disclosing the relationship, reinforcing the theory that the relationship began before the Talarico campaign would care to admit.
In a now-scrubbed Instagram post, Menard uploaded an erotic sung poem about a mysterious individual in March 2022, after she had begun working in Talarico's office. The date closely aligns with Talarico's statement about the pair having date for four years. https://t.co/OMtkx0198T pic.twitter.com/GfVc6q6x6y
— Joe Chalfant (@JoeChalfant) May 30, 2026
After a lengthy career working in the Texas Legislature, Menard now works as a lobbyist for TEXPAC. Her TexasLobby.org profile describes her as “specializing in abortion.” Despite his love interest working as a lobbyist, Talarico has proudly boasted that his campaign is taking on special interests and “rigged systems.” At a campaign stop during his primary campaign, he specifically cited “wealthy special interests” as the cause of political division.
Even though Menard has thrown in with the billionaire-class to carry on with her career, she still shares the radical progressive tendencies of her boyfriend. Menard has described herself as a “committed vegan” who attends Austin’s vegan gay bar, Cheer Up Charlies. The bar regularly hosts drag shows and other LGBT events, like “Queer Trivia,” and “Queer Karaoke.” An Instagram post from 2021 shows that Menard was gifted a vegan cake for her birthday.
Talarico seemingly adopted Menard’s vegan stance for his campaign in 2022, when he declared that he was now running a “meat-free” operation from that point forward. Talarico has desperately tried to hide from the claim that surely brought joy to the “committed vegan” he would begin a relationship with less than a year later, as Democrats have begun posting photos of the candidate consuming meat.
In 2022, James Talarico said it’s “existential” to reduce meat consumption to fight climate change.
— Bobby LaValley (@Bobby_LaVallley) March 17, 2026
"I am proud to say that our campaign has officially become a non-meat campaign... We are only buying vegan products from our local vegan businesses." pic.twitter.com/tz6K1aGYsy
November, here we come. pic.twitter.com/ux1w1WzGNO
— Democrats (@TheDemocrats) May 27, 2026
Talarico, with the support of his vegan, drag-show loving, lobbyist girlfriend is set to take on Republican nominee Ken Paxton for control of the Texas seat in November.
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