Senate Democratic nominee James Talarico is facing accusations of "blatant corruption" due to the high salary he received working for a consulting firm that received millions in state contracts awarded by the Texas Education Agency. 

Talarico helped provide oversight of the agency as member of the Public Education Committee, Fox News reported. 

In a 2019 Facebook post, Talarico announced he was joining MAYA Consulting and that he would be "working with districts, nonprofits, and communities to build excellent and equitable educational opportunities for all our students."

He worked for the firm from 2019 until 2025, according to Senate campaign financial disclosure documents, and during those years, official legislative records show that Talarico served as a voting member of the Texas House's Public Education Committee. 

During those years, the Texas Education Agency awarded contracts to MAYA totaling over $5 million. 

Republican National Committee spokesman Zach Kraft accused Talarico of wrongdoing, saying the Democrat’s work with MAYA is an example of "blatant corruption."

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is running against Talarico in the race, accused Talarico of abusing his office to enrich himself and his employer. 

"He needs to answer for his corruption and explain to taxpayers why he used their tax dollars to benefit himself and the woke DEI firm paying him tens of thousands of dollars," Paxton said in a post on X. 

The firm has since been rebranded VIDA Collaborative. Kassi Longoria, CEO of VIDA Collaborative, told Fox that Talarico has no current role with the firm, and she said that "during his time at VIDA, his consulting work was structured, specifically to remain separate from his role as a Texas state legislator."

JT Ennis, a spokesperson for Talarico's campaign, told Fox that the accusations are "a lie" and Talarico's involvement with the firm was fully disclosed in accordance with the law. Ennis added that Talarico had no involvement with security contracts for the firm, which barred him from representing it before the Texas legislature or education agencies.