James Talarico knows he is in a competitive Senate race in a red state, which means he now has to lie to voters about positions he has held for years to try to get elected.

Talarico is currently leading his Republican opponent, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, in the polling average by about 3 points (with the obvious caveat that the polling industry still has a leftward slant). In order to maintain his position and secure the upset victory over the GOP machine in Texas, Talarico has to pretend that he is some centrist candidate. This performance has seen him lie about his past positions on veganism and opposing meat consumption, and continue to pretend to be a devout Christian pastor-type.