Talarico: I want to work with Republicans ‘who said some mean things about me’

Sen.-elect James Talarico (D-Texas) is apparently shrugging off past criticism from Republicans, saying he’s “looking forward” to working with them — even elected officials who have said “mean things” about him.

The Texas Democrat defeated Republican Ken Paxton, the state attorney general, in their Senate race on Tuesday . Talarico’s win marked the first time a Democrat has won a Texas Senate seat in decades.

Appearing on ABC’s “The View” on Wednesday, he responded to a question about reaching across the aisle following the bitter campaign.

“It made me angry during the election that Republicans unfairly attacked you from every which way,” co-host Joy Behar said.

“All sorts of lies were going around about you, and it was really just mean. Do you still want to work together with these people?” she asked.

“The time for campaigning is over, and the time to lead, the time to serve, is now starting,” he said.

While Behar didn’t reference any specific “mean” remarks, on the campaign trail, Talarico faced attacks on his masculinity, including a “Low-T” nickname. President Trump repeatedly referred to Talarico as “Talafreako” and falsely accused him of being a vegan.

“This is my favorite part of this process. This is when we actually get to solve problems. This is when we actually get to make people’s lives easier and better and less stressful,” Talarico said on “The View.”

“And so I’m looking forward to working with Republicans — including Republicans who said some mean things about me in this race — because that’s my job,” he said.

“My job is to serve. My job is to make this state as good as its promise. And that means I’ll work with anybody and everybody to make that a reality,” Talarico added.

“So I’m going to leave what happened in the campaign in the campaign. I’m now ready to get to work for the people of my state.”