MAY 30, 2026
Texas Senate race opens with masculinity-themed attacks as Paxton coins "Talafreako" and Talarico sells it as merch
After winning the Texas Republican Senate primary, Attorney General Ken Paxton delivered a string of nicknames targeting Democratic state Rep. James Talarico, including "Talafreako," "tofu Talarico," "six-gender Jimmy," and "Low-T Talarico." Talarico responded at a general election kickoff rally in Houston by announcing "I'm a Talafreako" T-shirts for sale on his campaign website, and the crowd chanted the nickname after he left the stage. Paxton also released a campaign ad ending with the words "Radical Talarico: too low-T for Texas."
The Texas Senate general election began within hours of Paxton's primary victory with a wave of gendered attacks directed at Talarico. White House advisor Stephen Miller told Fox News that Talarico is the Democrats' "first transgender Senate candidate" — Talarico is not transgender — and added, "When Talarico goes in for a blood test, when he gets a physical, blood doesn't come out. Soy milk comes out." Fox host Jesse Watters described Talarico as a "gay vegan," then immediately acknowledged Talarico is "not gay and not vegan, for the record." Florida Republican congressional candidate Dan Weldon questioned whether Talarico could name "a single obscure wide receiver from the early 2000s."
Talarico addressed several of the attacks directly. The "six-gender" nickname refers to a 2021 comment in which he said "modern science acknowledges six biological variations based on chromosomes." He told CBS News this week, "I know there are two sexes, men and women," and added that people with chromosomal abnormalities "deserve to be treated with dignity and respect." The vegan label traces to a 2022 campaign speech in which he said his campaign had "become a non-meat campaign"; he has since said he eats meat and told a rally audience, "I've been eating barbecue since before Ken Paxton's first indictment," a reference to Paxton's 2015 federal securities fraud indictment. Paxton was later impeached by the Texas House for abusing his office and was acquitted by the Texas Senate.
At his Houston rally, Talarico called Paxton "the most corrupt politician in America" and pledged that his first Senate act would be a "comprehensive anti-corruption package" covering limits on corporate PAC donations, a ban on congressional stock trading, term limits, a ban on gerrymandering, and a Supreme Court overhaul. He also touted a record of passing more than 60 bipartisan bills during four terms in the Texas House covering property taxes, teacher pay, housing, prescription drugs, and childcare. "Ken Paxton has a criminal record. I have a legislative record," he said.