Talarico reverses on girls’ sports in Texas Senate race
After opposing a Texas bill on transgender athletes in 2021, the Senate Democrat now says he would oppose their play in girls’ sports when safety or fairness is at risk.
” > > — Terry Schilling” > > — Terry Schilling
KTRH reports that Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico told supporters he plans to support what the station calls the “trans agenda” as he always has if elected.
The race that puts this in front of Texas families is the U.S. Senate contest, where Talarico is the Democratic nominee and Attorney General Ken Paxton is the Republican nominee. The Texas Tribune reports that Paxton has made transgender sports a centerpiece of his effort to cast Talarico as too progressive for Texas1.
The electoral stakes
POLITICO reported that former North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory advised Trump to stay out of the transgender issue in 2020. In 2024, Trump made it central, with the line “We will not have men playing in women's sports,” and he won. In 2024, Trump made it central, with the line “We will not have men playing in women's sports,” and he won. Democrats who carry this agenda into red-leaning states are carrying the losing side of that argument into November.
Candidates’ own words
The record on Talarico, as KTRH relays it, is a candidate holding his ground, not changing it: his stated plan is to support the agenda as he always has2.
Texas has already shown which way pressure runs on this issue: Terry Schilling says Gov. Greg Abbott backed treating sex-change surgery on minors as child abuse in 2022, after American Principles Project ran Fox News ads against him3. American Principles Project is the family-first political group Schilling leads as president. Voters who move officeholders in one party can hold the other party to the same standard.
In May 2021, Talarico urged the Texas House Public Education Committee to reject a Republican bill on transgender students' sports teams, telling members it was impossible to compromise with hate4. As a Senate nominee on Fox News, he now says, "I will oppose trans athletes playing in girls’ sports if it risks safety or fairness." Republican nominee Ken Paxton answers that Talarico "voted against TWO bills that would have prevented men from playing in women’s sports1." In Ohio, Rep. Marcy Kaptur's ad now says, "I voted with Republicans to keep transgender ideology out of our schools, because parents know what’s best for their kids5." Parents can hold both candidates to those words on the ballot.
- May 2021Talarico urged the Texas House committee to reject a bill on transgender students’ sports teams
- Oct. 24, 2024Senate Republicans and allied groups had spent more than $77 million on ads about transgender issues in 10 states
- After the 2024 electionDemocrats fought over whether to abandon or moderate their position on transgender issues
Democrats’ internal divide
The talk of a Trans Bill of Rights lands in a party that has argued with itself about this before. After the 2024 election, NBC News reported, Democrats fought among themselves over whether to abandon or moderate their position on transgender issues3.
Activists push back
Schilling answered the Trans Bill of Rights talk by saying voters wrongly believe these questions are closed2. The numbers American Principles Project cites show where voters stand: a Napolitan News/RMG poll from November 2024 found 75% saying biological males should not compete in women’s sports. The same poll found 72% back making it illegal to give minors puberty blockers, drugs or surgery to transition6.
Republicans have acted on that: as of Oct. 24, 2024, Senate Republicans and allied groups had spent more than $77 million on ads about transgender issues in 10 states, according to AdImpact data reported by Axios6. If the other side believed the issue was a loser for Republicans, why would it be talking about a Trans Bill of Rights weeks before an election2?
this really works. It moves voters.
Terry SchillingRead it in The Assembly (NC), profile of Terry Schilling, 2025 ↗The pressure on these candidates is coming from inside their own party. In Toledo, the Lucas County Stonewall Democrats and the Lucas County Democratic Party called on Rep. Marcy Kaptur to pull her ad, WTVG reported. The Stonewall letter says her words "create deep emotional harm" and put transgender community members "in more danger." Her campaign answered that parents, coaches and local sports associations should set the rules5. In Texas, Equality Texas CEO Brad Pritchett criticized Talarico's Fox News comments, yet said he did not think Talarico had changed his core beliefs4. Parents can see who is policing the line, and which candidates are being told to hold it.
What families should ask
He says the midterms will decide the fate of America's children, and that every Republican must be brought to the polls. His warning is that going backward in this election could do serious damage to the effort to protect children2.
Families should hold every candidate on those ballots to two plain questions: will you keep men out of girls' sports, and will you vote to end sex-change procedures on minors? Parents hold the right, and have good reason, to refuse puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones for their children, and sex distinctions in girls' sports and private spaces must be preserved. A candidate who dodges either question has answered it, and the ballot is where parents enforce that answer.
Sources
- James Talarico reverses stance on trans student-athletes
- Socialist Dems Already Discussing ‘Trans Bill of Rights’ If They Win House | Talk Radio 1190
- The Assembly (NC), profile of Terry Schilling, 2025
- James Talarico is moderating on gender, climate issues in his competitive Senate election
- Kaptur ad on transgender athletes in schools draws backlash from local Democrats
- Defeating They/Them (American Principles Project, 2024)
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