The Texas Senate race has suddenly become one of the most closely watched political contests in the country, and a single Fox News interview with Democratic candidate James Talarico just added a fresh layer of intrigue. With recent polling showing the race surprisingly tight, Talarico sat down with Fox News at a food drive campaign event in Dallas on Tuesday, just miles away from where the first-ever GOP midterm convention was kicking off in the city’s downtown. The contrast was hard to miss: a Democratic state lawmaker from Round Rock, sleeves rolled up at a community food drive, while Republican activists gathered nearby to rally around Attorney General Ken Paxton, his opponent. The stakes could hardly be higher. A Republican loss in deep-red Texas would not only be a historic upset, but it would also complicate President Trump’s agenda in Washington, where every Senate seat matters for the party’s narrow majority. For Talarico, the interview was a chance to reintroduce himself to voters who may only know him through attack ads or viral clips. But instead of sticking to safe talking points, he waded directly into some of the most contentious cultural issues in American politics, offering a mix of firm stances, careful clarifications, and outright admissions that he had misspoken in the past.
On the question of gender surgery for minors, Talarico did not hesitate. Asked whether he would support a national ban as a U.S. senator, he answered, “Absolutely.” That might surprise some who remember his 2023 vote against a Texas bill that restricted gender surgeries, puberty blockers, and hormone treatments for minors. But Talarico insisted he has been consistent, explaining that his opposition to the Texas bill was about the legislation’s scope, not its core intent. “If you go back and check, I voted for a major amendment to limit the bill to banning surgeries for minors,” he said. He described the original measure as “overly broad,” saying that as a lawmaker, his job is to sift through everything a bill does, and sometimes harmful provisions force him to oppose the whole package. “It’s why I try to use amendments, to narrow the focus of the bill so that it does exactly what we intend it to do,” he continued. “It’s what I tried to do with that piece of legislation, and unfortunately the amendment I supported was unsuccessful.” In 2023, Talarico voted against SB 14, and he also supported all 18 Democratic amendments to the bill, all of which failed. His explanation paints a picture of a legislator who sees nuance in a polarized environment, but it also leaves him open to charges of political repositioning as he runs for statewide office in a conservative state.
Talarico also addressed the issue of transgender athletes in women’s sports, and his position has clearly evolved. “I oppose trans athletes playing in girls’ sports if it endangers safety or fairness,” he said, adding, “Every sport has to be safe and fair. As a former public school teacher, I care a lot about our student athletes. I care a lot about our students. And so, I will oppose trans athletes playing in girls’ sports if it risks safety or fairness.” That is a notable shift from his earlier record. In 2021, while serving on the Texas House Public Education Committee, he opposed SB 29, a bill that would have required public-school athletes to compete based on the biological sex listed on their birth certificates. At the time, he called the issue a “manufactured problem.” Later that year, he voted against HB 25, which enacted similar restrictions into Texas law. Now, as a Senate candidate, he is framing the issue in terms of safety and fairness, which sounds more like a middle-ground position than a full-throated endorsement of the conservative legislation. Whether voters will see this as thoughtful growth or political convenience likely depends on where they already stand, but Talarico clearly wants to project a pragmatic image on an issue that has become a major rallying point for Republicans.
Perhaps the most striking part of the interview came when Talarico addressed his past controversial comments, including his 2021 statement on the Texas House floor that “God is both masculine and feminine and everything in between. God is non-binary.” He admitted the line was deliberately provocative. “I was being provocative with that statement. I get that,” he said. But he defended the underlying point, arguing that human categories cannot define God, and he noted that theological figures like the late Pope Benedict had made similar arguments. “These comments are being clipped out of context to try to distract from Ken Paxton’s career of corruption,” he added. He also walked back his earlier suggestion that there are six genders, saying, “I’ve missed the mark on some of my past statements. I will be the first to admit it.” He clarified that he believes there are two sexes, with a small percentage of people born with genetic abnormalities. “Obviously didn’t say it correctly. There are not six sexes. There are two,” he said, before pivoting to attack Paxton and the GOP convention across the street. “I think the reason that politicians in that convention center across the street want to talk about six sexes is because they don’t want to talk about $6 diesel,” he said. It was a classic political move: acknowledge the mistake, reframe the narrative, and turn the spotlight back on the opponent.
Talarico did not stop there. He went after Paxton with both barrels, referencing the attorney general’s impeachment acquittal in the state Senate. “You mentioned him being acquitted in the state Senate. That was after two of his billionaire megadonors gave the lieutenant governor a $3 million check to buy his acquittal,” Talarico claimed. “So, Ken Paxton is the most corrupt politician in Texas and he’s gonna try to clip some of my comments, including comments where I was being a little provocative in order to try to distract from that career.” Fox News Digital reached out to the Paxton campaign for a response, but Talarico’s message was clear: he wants voters to see the race as a choice between a flawed but honest candidate and a Republican establishment figure with serious ethical baggage. He also turned his attention to the U.S. Supreme Court, which he described as “infected” with corruption and in need of an overhaul. If elected, he said, he would vote for binding codes of conduct for justices, term limits, and he is open to expanding the number of justices. That kind of rhetoric is popular with progressive Democrats, but it is also a risky bet in a state like Texas, where voters tend to be more skeptical of institutional change. Still, Talarico seems determined to run as a fighter, not a moderate, even as he tries to moderate some of his past positions.
Finally, Talarico pledged to keep his campaign focused on affordability for the rest of the race. “Everywhere I go across the state of Texas, people are struggling to survive in this economy. They are struggling to afford the basics: groceries, gas, utilities, healthcare. And that’s what I’m going to be focused on from now until Election Day,” he said. On the topic of taxes, he said Texas should not have a state income tax, which is a safe position in a state that prides itself on no income tax. But his record is more complicated. He previously voted against a measure to permanently ban a state income tax, which he suggested was redundant and an example of “government waste at its worst.” That measure ultimately passed the Texas Legislature and was approved by voters in November 2019. So while Talarico now says he opposes a state income tax, his past vote gives his opponents ammunition to question his sincerity. Still, his focus on kitchen-table issues is a deliberate strategy. In a race that could be decided by suburban swing voters, talking about the cost of living may be more effective than debating theology or gender policy. Whether Talarico can successfully walk the line between his progressive instincts and the realities of Texas politics remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: he is not shying away from the hard questions. He is answering them, explaining himself, and hoping that voters will see a candidate who is willing to learn, adapt, and fight for their priorities.
