Sleazy new claims about Texas Senate candidate James Talarico's secret romance: 'Come clean'

By JOSH BOSWELL, CHIEF INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER Published: 20:58, 4 June 2026 | Updated: 20:58, 4 June 2026 Texas Republicans are sounding the alarm over James Talarico's relationship with his newly-unmasked vegan girlfriend that appears to have begun while she was still employed by the Senate hopeful as his chief of staff. As a lobbyist for the Texas Medical Association, Brianna Menard has been spending thousands wining and dining the Democrat's State House colleagues. Furious Texas Republicans are calling it an abuse of power and conflict of interest.   'James Talarico cannot claim to fight for hardworking Texans while he is literally in bed with special interests,' Republican National Committee spokesman Zach Kraft told the Daily Mail. 'There is clear evidence Talarico abused his office previously to help his girlfriend, and he needs to come clean about every other time he has bent the rules.' Talarico, 37, had managed to keep his romance with Menard, 30, under wraps for several years before the political lobbyist's identity was recently made public.  Talarico had been facing growing rumors about his sexuality from online trolls when he revealed last month that he is in a relationship with a woman he described as 'my rock' and 'my best friend.' 'We became best friends, and then we fell in love, and we've been together ever since,' he told the Jamie Kern Lima podcast on May 14 – though he was still careful not to name her publicly. Despite his campaign telling local media they had been a couple for four years and got together after she left his office, records unearthed by the Daily Mail cast some doubt on that timeline.  Texas senate hopeful James Talarico, 37, kept his romance with Brianna Menard, 30, under wraps for several years before the political lobbyist's identity was recently made public Records suggest James Talarico promoted Brianna Menard to the top role in his office close to when they started dating and that he later helped get her another taxpayer-funded gig The records suggest Talarico promoted Menard to the top role in his office close to when they started dating and that he helped get her another taxpayer-funded role, which allowed them to continue their relationship without fear of an appearance of impropriety. According to a Texas lawmakers staff directory list from 2021, Menard was serving as Talarico's legislative director at the time.  When his chief of staff, Michelle Castillo, left to join a nonprofit in January 2022, Talarico promoted Menard to the position soon after. Menard was chosen for the role over Talarico's former deputy chief of staff, Rachel Bhalla, who now works for his senate campaign. The timeline provided by his campaign that Talarico and Menard started dating four years ago places the beginning of their romance around the same time as her promotion.  Separately, Talarico's fellow State Representative Salman Bhojani admitted in a 2022 panel discussion that Talarico had used his position to later help get his girlfriend another taxpayer-funded position. 'As soon as I won my primary in March, I had a wonderful state representative send me an email that their chief of staff would love to get a job with our office,' Bhojani said in a video that recently resurfaced on social media. 'She's sitting right here, Brianna Menard.' Talarico and Menard are pictured together at a 'banned book' protest at the Texas Capitol back in 2022 Menard, a self-described vegan and cat and yoga lover, has been spending thousands wining and dining the Democrat's State House colleagues as a lobbyist, the Daily Mail can reveal Bhojani announced Menard as his chief of staff in a Facebook post in January 2023 - months after Talarico's relationship with Menard is thought to have begun.  The news was a little too close for comfort for some Republicans.  'James Talarico leveraged his position in the Texas Legislature to score his staffer — that he was romantically involved with — another taxpayer-funded job,' a spokesperson for the Republican National Committee posted on X.  The Texas legislature has no explicit rule against relationships between lawmakers and their staffers but requires 'appropriate workplace conduct,' which may have prompted Talarico's desire to move her to a new role. While Talarico and Menard were no longer in the same office from 2023, he still kept his relationship with her under wraps - an unusual move in a state where politicians take care to display their stable relationships and family values to voters.  His romantic past has received fresh scrutiny as his senate campaign continues to gather momentum.  Talarico has raised a record-breaking $27 million in the first quarter of this year, making him the most viable Democratic contender for a Lone Star senate seat in years.  As a result, Republicans have zeroed in on his romance and are sounding the alarm over Menard's subsequent role as a lobbyist. Menard has spent a total $22,533 wining, dining and giving gifts to Talarico's fellow lawmakers, their staff and close family, records show The reports from the Texas Ethics Commission do not detail whom she lobbied, so it is unclear whether any of the spending was on her boyfriend or his current staff Under the 'Why I'm Running' section of his campaign website, Talarico said he is taking on 'rigged systems' and 'puppet politicians' who are beholden to 'billionaires' and their lobbyists. But he failed to mention that over the past three years, Menard spent a total of $22,533 wining, dining and giving gifts to Talarico's fellow lawmakers, their staff and close family, as part of her lobbying job for the Texas Medical Association. Menard logged $21,733.02 of spending on food and beverages and $764.13 on gifts, according to reports filed with the Texas Ethics Commission. A total of $6,733.42 was spent on Texas state representatives – of which her boyfriend Talarico is one – and $14,490.32 on lawmakers' staff. The reports from the Texas Ethics Commission do not detail whom she lobbied, so it is unclear whether any of the spending was on her boyfriend or his current staff. Menard specializes in abortion, aging and alcoholic beverage regulation, according to her profile on TexasLobby.org. As a vocal proponent of freedom of choice for women, Talarico would have a sympathetic ear to any pro-abortion lobbying from his girlfriend. He has previously diverted dormant campaign funds from his former boss to pro-abortion groups around the country. Talarico has raised a record-breaking $27 million in the first quarter of this year, making him the most viable Democratic contender for a Lone Star senate seat in years Talarico was also a director of a campaign fund for MJ Hegar, another Democrat previously believed to have a shot at a Texas senate seat. While the fund became dormant after Hegar lost to John Cornyn in 2020, under Talarico's stewardship along with two other directors, it has been sending its leftover cash to abortion organizations. The fund took in no new donations in the past five years but sent $16,500 to the DC Abortion Fund, $3,000 to Louisiana Abortion Access Fund, and $2,000 to Chicago Abortion Fund in 2023. Menard, for her part, has been pictured alongside Talarico at campaign events but has never been identified as his partner in campaign material. She described herself in a biography for her local food co-op as a 'committed vegan' and a cat and yoga lover, who enjoys 'dancing the night away' at the Austin gay bar Cheer Up Charlies. A spokesperson for Talarico referred the Daily Mail to their previous statement that the couple had been together for four years, and that Menard left his office when they developed feelings for each other. Menard did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 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