James Talarico Clarifies Positions on Gender Issues in Texas Senate Race

<p>In a Fox News exclusive interview, Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico expressed support for banning gender surgery for minors and opposed transgender-identifying men competing in women’s sports.</p><p>Talarico also retracted several of his earlier statements, including claims about the existence of six genders and that "God is nonbinary."</p><p>This statement comes as the Texas Senate race approaches its final months, with recent Fox News polling indicating a close contest. The race is considered significant for both parties' chances of securing a Senate majority. Talarico is competing against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican who has faced his own controversies. A Republican loss in Texas could impact President Donald Trump's ability to implement his agenda.</p><p>During the interview, conducted at a food drive campaign event in Dallas, Talarico stated, "Absolutely" when asked if he would support a national ban on gender surgery for minors. He explained his opposition to a Texas bill banning transgender surgeries on minors by saying the measure was overly broad.</p><p>"If you go back and check, I voted for a major amendment to limit the bill to banning surgeries for minors," he said. "As a lawmaker, my job is to try to sift through everything the bill does. And sometimes there's stuff in it that's really harmful, and I have no choice but to oppose the bill as a whole."</p><p>In 2023, Talarico voted against a state bill titled SB 14, which prohibited certain gender surgery, puberty blockers, and hormone treatments for minors. He supported 18 amendments proposed by Democrats to the bill, all of which failed.</p><p>Talarico acknowledged that the issue of men in women’s sports is significant in Texas, stating, "I oppose trans athletes playing in girls’ sports if it endangers safety or fairness." He emphasized the importance of safety and fairness in sports, citing his background as a former public school teacher.</p><p>His comments represent a shift from his previous stance as a Texas state lawmaker. In 2021, while serving on the Texas House Public Education Committee, he opposed SB 29, which sought to require public-school athletes to compete based on the biological sex listed on their birth certificate, referring to the issue as a "manufactured problem." He also voted against HB 25, which enacted similar restrictions into Texas law.</p><p>Talarico addressed his earlier statement that "God is both masculine and feminine and everything in between," admitting he was being provocative. He explained, "What I was trying to say is that you can't use human categories to define God, and that's not controversial theologically."</p><p>He claimed that his comments are being taken out of context to distract from Paxton's controversies, stating, "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."</p><p>Regarding his past comment about the number of genders, Talarico stated he does not currently believe there are six sexes. "I've missed the mark on some of my past statements. I will be the first to admit it," he said. "What I meant is that there are two sexes, and then there's a small percentage of people with genetic abnormalities."</p><p>He criticized the Supreme Court, describing it as "infected" with corruption and stating it needs to be overhauled. Talarico indicated that if elected, he would advocate for binding codes of conduct for justices, term limits, and a discussion about expanding the number of justices.</p><p>Following these controversies, Talarico pledged to focus on affordability for the remainder of his campaign. He stated, "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."</p><p>On the topic of affordability, Talarico mentioned that Texas should not have a state income tax, despite previously voting against a measure to permanently ban a state income tax, which he deemed redundant.</p>