Pastor Reportedly Close To Pete Hegseth Calls For James Talarico a 'Demon,' Says He Wants Him 'Crucified With Christ'

Brooks Potteiger, an evangelical pastor reportedly close to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, has called for state Rep. James Talarico, the Democratic candidate in the Texas election for the U.S. Senate, to be "crucified with Christ."

According to the Huffpost, Potteiger made the remarks while talking on the "Redformation Red Pill" podcast hosted by Joshua Haymes, a former pastoral intern at Potteiger's church.

Haymes said he was praying "God kills him," later saying that it "ultimately means killing his heart and raising him up to new life in Christ." However, should that "not be within God's will to do so, stop him by any means necessary."

The outlet noted that Hegseth has appeared on at least four episodes of the podcast and reportedly endorsed the show different times. Moreover, he brought Potteiger to the Pentagon last May to lead a prayer service.

Talarico reacted to the report, saying in a social media post that "Jesus loves" but "Christian Nationalism kills." "You may pray for my death, Pastor, but I still love you. I love you more than you could ever hate me," he added.

Talarico, who beat Rep. Jasmine Crockett in the Democratic primary, appears to be in a solid position to challenge a decades-long Republican dominance in the state.

According to a recent poll, he would beat John Cornyn by two percentage points, getting 43% of the support compared to the Republican's 41%, and Ken Paxton by one (44% to 43%).

Conducted by Impact Research, the poll interviewed 900 likely voters between March 12 and 17. It shows Cornyn and Paxton with large unpopularity ratings. Paxton has a negative 18-point margin, and Cornyn a negative 33-point one.

The results are similar to another poll conducted by Public Policy Polling, which showed the Democratic candidate beating Paxton by 47%-45% and Cornyn by 44%-43%, although there was a larger amount of people who are not sure who they would support in the latter race.

Talarico has taken aim at both candidates, saying earlier this month that they are "extraordinarily weak." Speaking to Politico after beating Rep. Jasmine Crockett in the Democratic primary, Talarico voiced confidence about his chances of winning the general race.

"Paxton and Cornyn, they're different. Paxton was guilty of illegal corruption. That's why my colleagues and I impeached him in the Texas House. But Cornyn is guilty of legalized corruption. He was the deciding vote on the Big, Ugly, Bill which kicked millions of Texas off their health care, took food out of the mouths of hungry Texas kids all to give tax breaks to his donors," he claimed.