Texas state Rep. James Talarico sat down with Muslim community members and North Texas officials at a meet-and-greet in Irving as the state entered its first day of in-person early voting for the November 3 election. The gathering placed the Democratic U.S. Senate candidate alongside local leaders. Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against the university alleging unauthorized operation, misleading prospective students, and violations of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act and Texas Education Code.
Local Officials Join Talarico At Irving Event
The event was described as a Muslim Texan community meet and greet in Irving, according to a post from M Emad Salem that named the attendees, as reported by Dallas Express. Salem praised Talarico as the next U.S. senator from Texas, and his post named Richardson Mayor Amir Omar, Irving City Councilman Fahad Ahmed, state Rep. Salman Bhojani, Nima Bhojani and others among those present. Talarico appeared seated at a table with attendees during the gathering, per the same account.
During the event, Omar publicly promoted Texas American Muslim University, also known as TexAM, offering to connect the school with local employers, the Dallas Express report states. That promotion comes months after Paxton sued the institution on May 18, alleging it offered unauthorized degrees and misled prospective students. Separately, The Texas Tribune reported that TexAM advertised bachelor's and master's degree programs, promoted a student campus in Richardson, and solicited students online and overseas, with Paxton's office accusing the school of operating without state approval and using a name too similar to Texas A&M.
A Legislative Record On Marriage Officiants
Talarico has pointed to his legislative record as evidence of his outreach to Muslim Texans. In a January 2026 campaign document addressed to Muslim Texans, he described a deep connection to Islam and highlighted his work on marriage ceremonies, religious holidays, and school testing accommodations, the Dallas Express report notes. He has framed his approach as protecting Americans' freedom to practice different religions or no religion, and has pledged to continue working with religious leaders in the Senate.
That record traces back to 2021, when Talarico filed House Bill 2039 to change who could perform marriage ceremonies in Texas. The original version would have added Muslim imams to a statute that otherwise named Christian ministers, priests and Jewish rabbis and authorized religious-organization officers, according to the same Irving gathering report. The House-passed version instead provided that anyone authorized by a religious organization could conduct marriages, and the Texas House passed the measure on April 15, 2021, before it was referred to the Senate State Affairs Committee four days later. It did not become law. Talarico thanked Muslim activists, including Insiya Aziz of Emgage Action, who testified on the bill's behalf in March 2021.
Talarico revisited the issue in 2025, co-authoring House Bill 1044 with Salman Bhojani. That bill would have explicitly added Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim and Sikh officiants to Texas marriage law while retaining Christian ministers, priests and Jewish rabbis, per the report. The bill cleared a Texas House committee but did not become law.
Advocacy Groups Mobilize As Voting Begins
The Irving gathering unfolded against a backdrop of organized outreach to Muslim voters statewide. Emgage Action currently lists Talarico as an endorsed candidate for U.S. Senate and Salman Bhojani for Texas House District 92, the same report states. The Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, lists Texas among 12 priority states in its national election plan, which calls for mosque-based voter registration, early-voting outreach, and transportation to polling places, though the organization describes that program as nonpartisan and says it does not endorse candidates.
CAIR, CAIR Action, and CAIR Texas have previously urged Muslim voters across the state to turn out and vote, according to a CAIR press release, which noted the groups had sent voter information and reminders to more than 50,000 Muslim primary voters statewide. Locally, the Irving Muslims PAC has endorsed Fahad Ahmed in his 2026 council race as part of an effort to build an independent Muslim voting bloc, with priorities that include equal treatment for mosques and Islamic schools in city zoning and permitting, religious freedom, and parents' rights, per the Dallas Express account.
Rhetoric And Scrutiny Surround The Outreach
The courtship of Muslim voters comes amid broader scrutiny of anti-Muslim rhetoric in the state. A New York Times report published in August described rhetorical attacks on Muslims by top Texas leaders as more pronounced and said the rhetoric seemed to be trickling down into public behavior. That report cited recent incidents including a terroristic-threat arrest at a major new Islamic center in Houston, along with confrontations involving Muslim shoppers in Conroe and a former mayor in McKinney.
Amy Mek, founder and editor-in-chief of RAIR Foundation, highlighted Talarico's gathering and his ties to Muslim advocacy groups, the Dallas Express report states. Talarico, a Presbyterian seminarian, is running for the Senate seat, as noted by The Nation, which placed his approach alongside other Democrats who have made religious conviction central to their politics, citing Senator and Reverend Raphael Warnock's Baptist identity and Muslim officials such as Zohran Mamdani embracing their faith publicly. Texas's in-person early voting runs from Monday through October 30 ahead of the November 3 election.
