Will Cain’s contentious debate with fugitive Texas Dem spills over into spat on social media

A fugitive Texas Democrat’s attempt to flaunt a redistricting debate with Fox News host Will Cain left out some key details about the alleged “one side that is trying to rig the rules.”

(Video Credit: Fox News)

As the sole accomplishment of the left’s narrative around the Lone Star State’s redistricting effort was shaping up to be a talking point-driven fundraising haul, those who’d abandoned their posts, fleeing the state to break quorum, had yet to abandon unfounded claims of a moral high ground.

To that end, Texas state Rep. James Talarico (D) had attempted to stump his fellow Texan and host of “The Will Cain Show” with an argument that seemingly tried to have it both ways on gerrymandering.

“And in fact, when Democrats had a majority in Congress, they voted to ban gerrymandering in every state, red states and blue states,” asserted the lawmaker. “Do you know how many Republican members of Congress joined them in that effort?”

After Cain sought clarity on the point his guest was making, Talarico went on, “All the Democrats voted for it. Zero Republicans voted for it. Zero. So, you can spare me the ‘both sides’ rhetoric. It’s clearly one side that is trying to rig the rules in the middle of the game.”

Left out of the elected officials’ contention, which appeared to be a reference to the For the People Act of 2021, was the fact that the same piece of legislation sought to limit the ability for states to clean up voter rolls while expanding mail-in voting.

Vying for an apples to apples comparison, Cain turned his focus to the state of Massachusetts, which does not have a single Republican majority district despite, as he pointed out, being a state “where Donald Trump gets 35% of the votes.”

“You gave the ballgame analogy. In my view, what has happened here is you’ve done something in certain states, and you don’t like it in Republican states. And now you’re saying, you’ve done the same thing as us. You’ve done the same thing as us. And we are gonna, by the way, if you do it, we’re gonna ratchet it up even more, in the words of [California Gov.] Gavin Newsom,” expressed the host.

Leaning on the position that the dispute was over Texas redistricting midway between census-taking, Talarico argued, “The only way this is gonna happen in blue states is if Texas executes this power grab. You mentioned Massachusetts. Do you know the party of the governor that signed that map into law?”

“He was a Republican,” the lawmaker went on of then-Gov. Charlie Baker, as it had been more than three decades since a Massachusetts congressional district had a GOP representative. “It was a Republican governor that signed that map into law,” prompting confusion from Cain, who asked, “What, that map?”

Following the appearance, Talarico, one of the 13 Democrats that Texas Attorney General had asked the Texas Supreme Court to expel for abandoning office, went on to claim on X that he “asked a simple question: ‘If Republican policies are so popular, why do they need to redraw these maps; why not run on their policies?’” and claimed, “He refused to answer — and cut the interview early.”

To that and the shortened clip of the interview, Cain responded, “Oh James. Trolls distorting the interview is one thing, but you were there. I respectfully gave you ten minutes, an eternity in cable news. And in all that time, you had no answer as to why you’ve abandoned your job. You can take a flag to IL, but you still cut and run from Texas.”

“And your dishonesty in suggesting I cut your interview short perfectly illustrates the honesty of your running away from TX. I always welcome honest debate, but it’s clear that’s not who you are. Stay in Illinois, little Jimmy. Better fit for you than TX,” he added.

And your dishonesty in suggesting I cut your interview short perfectly illustrates the honesty of your run away from TX. I always welcome honest debate but it’s clear that’s not who you are. Stay in Illinois little Jimmy. Better fit for you than TX.

— Will Cain (@willcain) August 12, 2025

Staff Writer

Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn’t researching current events and their impacts, you’ll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.

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