James Talarico will be the first Democrat to represent Texas in the U.S. Senate since 1994, Decision Desk HQ projects — a stunning upset in a race that hinged on conversations about masculinity and anti-transgender attacks.
Talarico, a seminarian and representative in the Texas legislature, defeated Attorney General Ken Paxton, a hardline conservative endorsed by President Donald Trump who is known as one of the anti-abortion movement’s staunchest warriors.
In what became the most expensive Senate race in state history, Paxton attacked Talarico on questions of manliness, characterizing the Democrat as “low-T” — a reference to testosterone levels that influencers in the manosphere often use.
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White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, a top adviser to Trump, called Talarico the “first transgender Senate candidate.” Talarico is cisgender and in a relationship with a woman. Republicans also falsely accused Talarico of being vegan, a notion that manosphere commentators argue can make someone less of a man.
Paxton’s campaign also focused on Talarico’s previous support of transgender rights, including through an array of AI-generated ads broadcast across the state and highlighting a 2021 remark in which he said, “God is nonbinary.”
During the campaign, Talarico walked back his previous support of trans people participating in sports, telling Fox News he would oppose allowing transgender student-athletes to participate in girls’ sports if “it endangers safety or fairness.” He also softened his support of keeping healthcare available for trans minors, telling Fox News he would vote for a national law banning gender-affirming surgeries for kids, which are rarely performed.
Though Talarico focused his campaign on questions of costs and corruption, the Democrat leveraged his religious background when talking about issues such as LGBTQ+ rights and abortion.
“We’re both Christians, and the Bible is silent on the issue of abortion. It means you and I both have to look at different scriptures to try to come to a conclusion,” Talarico said at an October CNN event. “But what I think we can do is actually come together on reducing the number of unplanned pregnancies and the number of abortions. Because if we treat this issue as a public health problem and not a culture war problem, then we can actually make progress together.”
In the final weeks of the campaign, Paxton’s campaign was heavily financed by Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, who spent almost $200 million in an attempt to secure a Republican victory.
