Texas Senate Race Turns on Candidate’s God Comment Claim

Clear Facts

• Texas Senate candidate James Talarico defended remarks that God is beyond gender during a podcast appearance.
• He is running as a Democrat to challenge Republican Senator John Cornyn after the GOP primary runoff.
• Talarico also urged ending the Senate filibuster to speed up legislative action in Washington.

Texas Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico revisited remarks he made about the nature of God. During a podcast interview, he maintained that his previous assertion that God is beyond gender is theologically sound.

The candidate originally made the statement during a 2021 legislative session. He cited response to Republican bills protecting female sports.

“I know that I was being provocative with that comment,” Talarico said.

“While it’s maybe provocative politically, I don’t think it’s controversial theologically. Most Christians believe that God is beyond gender,” Talarico said during the podcast.

“In Christ, there is neither male nor female,” he added, citing the Apostle Paul.

“So, if you have a problem with what I said, don’t take it up with me, take it up with the Apostle Paul,” he said.

Talarico also used the platform to attack his potential Republican opponents, Ken Paxton and John Cornyn. He claimed neither man deserved the honor of representing Texas in the United States Senate.

“And so Ken Paxton was impeached for using his public office to enrich his donors,” Talarico said.

“And that’s exactly what John Cornyn does at the biggest scale,” Talarico said.

Beyond social issues, Talarico expressed support for removing procedural hurdles in Congress. He called for the end of the filibuster so voters can see quicker legislative results.

“I think we should abolish the filibuster so that we can actually govern in this country,” Talarico noted.

“People… want to see the results of that vote,” he added.

The candidate said he plans to model his campaign after Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock. He believes a similar playbook will help him win the statewide seat in November.