A Texas Democrat running for U.S. Senate now says there are only two biological sexes, walking back a controversial claim he made just a few years ago that there were six.
State Rep. James Talarico, the Democratic nominee for Senate in Texas, admitted to Fox News that he “missed the mark” when he told a state legislative committee in 2021 that six biological sexes exist. The reversal comes as Talarico tries to win over voters in a state where traditional values still hold strong.
“No, I’ve missed the mark on some of my past statements. I will be the first to admit it,” Talarico told Fox News correspondent Brooke Taylor when pressed on the 2021 comments.
The original statement came during a Texas State House Public Education Committee hearing, where Talarico pushed the claim that six biological sexes exist. Now seeking higher office, the Democrat is singing a different tune.
“What I meant is that there are two sexes, and then there’s a small percentage of people with genetic abnormalities,” Talarico explained. “Obviously, I didn’t say it correctly. There are not six sexes, there are two.”
Taylor pressed the candidate to make the point crystal clear: “So, just to nail it down here standing with me, you can confidently say there are two sexes, a man and a woman.”
“Absolutely,” Talarico answered.
The sudden about-face raises questions about whether Talarico genuinely changed his views or simply recognizes that promoting gender ideology won’t play well with Texas voters heading into a tough election. His 2021 comments aligned with progressive activists who argue that biological sex exists on a spectrum, a position that contradicts basic biology and centuries of scientific understanding.
Rather than dwell on his reversal, Talarico quickly pivoted to economic issues, suggesting that Republicans only want to discuss his past statements to distract from pocketbook concerns.
“I think the reason that politicians in that convention center across the street want to talk about six sexes is because they don’t want to talk about $6 diesel,” Talarico said. “Everywhere I go across the State of Texas people are struggling to survive in this economy. They are struggling to afford the basics, groceries, gas, utilities, health care. And that’s what I’m going to be focused on from now until Election Day.”
The deflection is a familiar tactic for Democrats caught promoting positions that fall outside the mainstream. When confronted with past statements that could alienate moderate voters, candidates often attempt to shift the conversation to safer ground.
Whether Talarico’s election-year conversion represents a genuine change of heart or political calculation will be for Texas voters to decide. What remains on the record is that a man now asking Texans to send him to Washington once stood before a state committee and declared that six biological sexes exist.
