In 2020 climate forum, Talarico said capitalism 'oppressive' and Texas oil industry won't last

In a 2020 forum, James Talarico, Texas Democrats' U.S. Senate nominee, described capitalism as an "oppressive system" that's associated with white supremacy and climate change. 

The statements were made during a Sierra Club virtual climate candidate forum in September 2020, CNN reported. 

Talarico also compared Texas' leadership in the oil and gas industry to "being the leader in cassette tapes in the 1980s" and predicted that the industry "is not going to last." 

Talarico has raised far more money this year than his GOP opponent Ken Paxton, but he remains locked in a tight race. The Democrat has been trying to expand his appeal in hopes of getting an edge over Paxton, but the 2020 remarks demonstrate he used much more progressive language before his bid for the Senate this year. 

The forum was hosted by the Austin chapter of the Sierra Club, and Talarico participated as a 31-year-old representative seeking reelection for a second term in the Texas House. Talarico, who was one of four candidates participating in the forum, was asked to address the disproportionate effects of climate change on communities of color. 

"Young activists have really drawn the link between climate change and white supremacy and capitalism in our country. And I think only ending the ways that all three of those oppressive systems work together are we going to be able to begin the process of dismantling them,” Talarico answered.