4 things to know about Senate candidate James Talarico's PCUSA pastor: 'Wolf in sheep's clothing'

Texas state Rep. James Talarico, who is facing off Tuesday in a primary against Rep. Jasmine Crocket, D-Texas, to be their state's 2026 Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, has drawn national attention in recent months for the liberal theological positions he has made a key part of his political platform.

The 36-year-old state lawmaker, who has railed against "Christian nationalism" while claiming that God is non-binary, Jesus was a "radical feminist" and there are potentially six biological sexes, grew up in St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Austin, Texas. Part of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the church has been pastored for more than 35 years by the Rev. Jim Rigby.

Talarico has touted Rigby as one of his most influential mentors. The pastor baptized him, officiated his parents' marriage and delivered the invocation before his 2019 swearing-in ceremony at the Texas House of Representatives.

Known for his radically liberal theology, Rigby repeatedly clashed throughout his ministry with leaders in the PCUSA, which has increasingly drifted leftward in recent years as it hemorrhages members and entire congregations as they depart for more conservative Presbyterian denominations.

Here are four things to know about the spiritual mentor of the 36-year-old Talarico, who has fast become a rising star in the Democratic Party.