Democratic U.S. Senate nominee James Talarico said Wednesday he now believes there are two sexes and that he opposes transgender athletes in girls sports when safety or fairness is at risk, walking back language he used in the Texas House.
In a Fox News interview with Brooke TaylorIn a Fox News interview with Brooke Taylor near the Republican midterm convention in Dallas, Talarico was asked about a 2021 hearing in which he said modern science recognized six biological sexes and described sex as a spectrum. “I’ve missed the mark on some of my past statements,” he said, according to Fox News and Breitbart. “There are not six sexes. There are two.” Pressed on whether that means a man and a woman, he answered, “Absolutely.”
The Austin Democrat said he was referring to a small share of people with genetic abnormalities and argued Republicans would rather talk about his old comments than “$6 diesel,” groceries and health care.
James Talarico voted against TWO bills that would have prevented men from playing in women’s sports.
— Attorney General Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) September 9, 2026
He also called it a “far-right conspiracy theory.” This is just the latest episode in James Talarico’s long saga of lies and flip-flops. pic.twitter.com/shvr5kg3iP
On sports, Talarico told interviewers he opposes trans athletes in girls sports “if it endangers safety or fairness,” the Austin American-Statesman reported. He voted against a 2021 law barring transgender students from teams that match their gender identity rather than sex at birth. He said that bill was “overly broad” and that he backed an amendment to leave the decision to local communities.
He also addressed a 2023 vote against Senate Bill 14, which banned gender-transition surgeries, puberty blockers and hormones for minors. Talarico told NewsNation’s Leland Vittert he opposes those surgeries for children but voted no because the measure “did a lot more than banning surgeries for minors” and, he said, targeted doctors providing other care.
Talarico said Attorney General Ken Paxton “will clip a short comment out of a much longer speech” to make him “sound like a crazy person.” Paxton, the Republican Senate nominee, posted that Talarico voted against two bills to keep males out of women’s sports and called the latest comments part of a “saga of lies and flip-flops.”
The exchange comes as both campaigns used convention week in Dallas to define the race. Talarico held a food drive; Paxton spoke at American Airlines Center.
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