Why Republicans are questioning the masculinity of Texas Democratic Senate contender James Talarico

Why Republicans are questioning the masculinity of Texas Democratic Senate contender James Talarico

Talarico also slammed for comments about gender, accused of being a vegan

When Texas Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton began referring to his Democratic opponent James Talarico as "Talafreako," Talarico's campaign decided to take the insult and turn it into a political opportunity.

"I am proud to announce that we have 'I'm a Talafreako' T-shirts on our website," Talarico told a crowd in Houston last week. "So, when you go home tonight, make sure you grab one."

It's just one way Talarico has responded to the series of attacks and personal insults from Republicans, who hope the tactics will prove effective against the politician they see as a real threat in the Senate race, analysts say.

"If you can discredit a candidate right out of the gate by suggesting that they don't share the culture of the people, that they're not up to the task of representing a state like Texas, then you've won," said Cal Jillson, a political science professor at Texas-based Southern Methodist University.

Talarico, a 37-year-old member of the Texas House of Representatives and a Presbyterian seminarian, has been considered a rising star in the Democratic Party. He speaks frequently about how his progressive policy positions are rooted in his Christian faith.

"That Talarico is a strong messenger and can present himself as being a moderate is worrisome to Republicans," said Brandon Rottinghaus, a political science professor at the University of Houston.

He said Texas Republicans often cry wolf about potential Democratic threats, but this time they are justified in being fearful.

With the economy sour, U.S. President Donald Trump struggling in polls and the incumbent president's party expected to do badly overall in the midterms, conditions are ripe for a serious Democratic challenger, Rottinghaus said.

Meanwhile, Republicans are running Paxton, a 63-year-old, scandal-plagued attorney general who was impeached by the Texas House, indicted for felony fraud, reported to the FBI by his top aides and dogged by allegations of infidelity.

That's why Republicans have seized on Talarico's controversial past statements, particularly those on the topic of gender, including remarks that "God is non-binary" and that there are six biological sexes.

They have also accused Talarico, running in a beef-loving state like Texas, of being a vegan because of comments in April 2022 that his campaign had "officially become a non-meat campaign."

“We are only buying vegan products from our local vegan businesses," he said at the time.

By highlighting those remarks, Republicans are trying to paint Talarico as an outsider and someone not focused on what happens to Texas families, Rottinghaus said.

"It's a way metaphorically to disconnect him from his his strongest advantage, which is that he's a good messenger on issues that are reflecting some concerns people have with the economy."

Talarico is still relatively unknown to the broad Texas electorate, said Texas-based Democratic strategist Matt Angle.

"So [Republicans] want to get out front and try to define him before Talarico actually is able to extend his appeal."

But Talarico himself has expressed regret over some of his past comments on cultural issues, telling NBC News they "missed the mark" and that Paxton "was clipping my cringey comments to distract from his career of corruption."

Texas state Rep. and Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico responded to GOP attacks over his past remark that God is “non-binary,” telling @edokeefe that some of his previous comments “missed the mark.”

“There are some statements that I’ve made that I certainly regret,”… pic.twitter.com/VRsEXHo6ir

He has since walked back some of his comments, telling CBS News, for example, that he was being "intentionally provocative" with the non-binary statement related to God, but also clarifying that "God can't be defined by human categories."

He has also since insisted that there are two genders, men and women, but the very small percentage with "chromosomal abnormalities" deserve to "be treated with dignity and respect."

As for the vegan label, he says that's an outright lie, displaying his meat-eating bonafides with a recent photo-op of him eating at a Dallas-based barbecue restaurant.

Still, Republicans have continued to hammer away at Talarico, with Paxton referring to him as "six-gender Jimmy," while White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller has claimed the Democrats have nominated their "first transgender Senate candidate."

Other, more personal attacks have called his masculinity into question, with Paxton referring to him as "Low-T Talarico," an insinuation he suffers from low testosterone levels.

Fox News host Jesse Watters recently referred to him as a "gay vegan" and questioned whether he really has a girlfriend.

"I think that the strategy is to see what lands, what sticks. 'This is what we have so far to start with. Let's see if this is moving voters, and if so, we're going to stick to that plan,'" said Texas-based Republican strategist Brendan Steinhauser. "And if not, they might try something else."

Steinhauser said it could help the Paxton campaign if it simply replayed Talarico's comments.

"Don't necessarily think they should be ... calling him names or doing more of the ad hominem attacks. I think playing his words back verbatim is probably more powerful and allows, you know, [Talarico] to sort of speak for himself."

Monika McDermott, a political science professor at New York-based Fordham University, said Texas is the prime location for an attack on Talarico's masculinity to play itself out.

McDermott, who co-edited the book Masculinity in American Politics, said this wouldn't necessarily work in places like California or New York, or possibly parts of the Midwest.

"But in the southern states, especially in Texas, the tagline too low T for Texas makes it just perfectly clear. They're just saying, 'This isn't a real man in Texas terms.'

"It can get a better grip in Texas especially to the extent that they're accompanying this message with the ideas about [Talarico] being vegan, and accepting transgender kids, and wanting to support them and things like that, which aren't really that popular."

Rottinghaus said Republican campaign officials expect this to be a base-turnout election and this line of attack against Talarico plays well with the base.

"If they can get their base to come out, then they'll win," he said. "And so to prime the base on these issues is a way to make sure that they stay in line."

Their biggest fear, however, is that Republicans stay home, meaning results could be left up to independent voters and Republicans who lean conservative but are unsure about voting for the party, Rottinghaus said.

Whether the Republican strategy against Talarico will be effective with those voters, "time will tell," he said.

Angle, the Democratic strategist, said the line of attack will only be effective if Talarico doesn't answer it, "and just sits back and takes it."

"You can't just allow the Republicans to define you and not respond."

But Steinhauser, the Republican strategist, believes Talarico has handled the attacks "pretty well."

"I think he realizes that he has to be self-aware about some of the comments that probably won't help him with Republicans or conservative-leaning independents. And I've seen some self-awareness on his part."

Mark Gollom is a Toronto-based reporter with CBC News. He covers Canadian and U.S. politics and current affairs.