Radical US Senate candidate James Talarico of Texas held a Big Apple fundraiser hosted by leaders of a group that supports gender surgery and transition drugs for minors — weeks after insisting he opposes the controversial practices.
In a Sept. 8 Fox News interview, the Democratic state legislator facing Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in a critical November race, said he’d vote in favor of a national ban on gender surgery for minors if elected to the Senate.
And the 37-year-old also claimed he’s “been consistent on this issue,” adding that his earlier opposition to a Texas bill to ban transgender surgeries on minors was simply because the measure “was overly broad.”
Yet Talarico’s Tuesday Greenwich Village fundraiser was hosted by three people who serve on the boards of the Human Rights Campaign or its foundation — an organization that advocates access to what it calls “gender-affirming care” for transgender minors, according to TexasScoreCard.com.
The reception’s hosts included Morgan Cox, who sits on the HRC’s board of directors; author Andrew Solomon, who serves on the HRC Foundation Board of Directors; and former US Ambassador to Spain James Costos, who sits on both the HRC and its foundation boards, according to an event flyer.
The HRC is the nation’s largest LGBTQ political lobbying group.
In a guide published by its foundation, the organization notes puberty-blocking drugs can be given to adolescents and that “some trans youth may benefit from gender-affirming surgery, which is rarely an option under the age of 17.”
The guide also offers a chart detailing what the HRC calls the “Common Steps in Gender Transition.” It lists puberty blockers for “early- to mid-adolescents” and cross-sex hormone therapy, including testosterone for biological females and estrogen with an androgen inhibitor for biological males.
Tickets to Talarico’s fundraiser ranged from $1,000 for an individual ticket to $13,500 for “Champion” level entry, according to the event listing.
Talarico pocketing checks at the fundraiser thrown by HRC honchos — while publicly distancing himself from gender surgery for minors — is one of his many U-turns, critics said.
“James Talarico will say anything to get elected; he will change his positions depending on who’s in the room,” claimed Paxton campaign spokeswoman Madison Cercy.
“No matter how much flip-flopping he may do, he will remain a radical Democrat who wrote a bill to eliminate the oil and gas industry, fought for passing a state income tax, and the moment he’s sworn in, he’ll begin pushing his radical trans agenda once again.
“Most Texans believe protecting kids isn’t up for negotiation, and it certainly isn’t for sale at a Manhattan fundraiser.”
Zach Kraft, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee, agreed: “It is hard to keep track of what James Talarico claims to believe given that he flip flops” regularly.
“If you want to know how he will vote in the Senate, look at his record in the Legislature where he voted for taxpayer-funded sex changes for kids of any age and to allow men in women’s sports,” Kraft added.
In 2023, as a member of the Texas House of Representatives, Talarico voted against a bill that ultimately became law, which prohibited gender surgery, puberty blockers and hormone treatments for minors.
Two years earlier, he agitated his conservative constituents by claiming on the Texas House floor that under his interpretation of the Bible “God is non-binary” and “both masculine and feminine and everything in between.”
He also repeatedly voted against bills requiring athletes to compete by biological sex.
During the Fox News interview, he tried to backtrack on his controversial assertion that God is non-binary as well as his bizarre claim that “modern science” shows there are six biological sexes.
“I was being provocative with that statement. I get that,” Talarico admitted, explaining, “What I was trying to say is that you can’t use human categories to define God, and that’s not controversial theologically.”
Talarico spokesperson JT Ennis insisted any suggestion the Texas pol changed his position is “inaccurate.”
“As James has said, he opposes gender reassignment surgery for minors. At the same time, he’ll always stand against discrimination, especially when the most powerful politicians in the country bully students to score political points,” said Ennis.
“While Ken Paxton and his billionaire backers spread lies, James will continue bringing Texans together to solve problems, not grandstand them.”
The Greenwich Village fundraiser came a day after Talarico attended another NYC fundraiser, which was thrown by a host committee packed with donors and allies of far-left Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
That gala, which also raised money for Ohio Democrat Sherrod Brown’s comeback bid to reclaim his former US Senate seat, was headlined and introduced by actor Robert De Niro.
Its host committee included controversial jeweler Alexis Bittar, a Mamdani fundraiser and transition bundler who also co-hosted a fundraiser last month for radical anti-Israel and Democratic Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed — who once referred to America as a “s–thole.”
The Paxton-Talarico race — which is considered a dead heat heading into the Nov. 3 midterm elections — is widely viewed as critical to determining which party secures the Senate majority.
