Talarico camp says he opposes trans athletes if unsafe or unfair but accuses politicians of bullying students
"As a former public school teacher, James cares about our student athletes — that’s why throughout his career he has opposed trans athletes playing girls’ sports when it jeopardizes safety or fairness," campaign spokesperson JT Ennis told OutKick on Tuesday.THE CRAIG CARTON SHOW–UNFILTERED, UNAPOLOGETIC AND UNMISSABLE.DOWNLOAD HIS DAILY PODCAST NOW!"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, because his faith teaches him that every child is made in the image of God."His campaign did not say whether he would support a federal law broadly protecting women's and girls' sports from male competitors when asked, including the Protection of Women's and Girls' in Sports Act, which failed to advance in the Senate last March when every Democrat senator voted against it.Democratic U.S.
Senate candidate James Talarico speaks during a campaign rally at the Cailloux Theater on Aug.31, 2026, in Kerrville, Texas.
Talarico is campaigning across the state in a close race against Republican candidate and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton ahead of the Nov.3 general election.
(Brandon Bell/Getty Images)Meanwhile, his record as a state lawmaker shows he's voted against statewide restrictions on transgender participation, while frequently pushing for amendments that would have allowed male athletes in girls' sports through exceptions.Talarico expressed his conditional opposition to males in girls' sports in a September Fox News interview."I oppose trans athletes playing in girls’ sports if it endangers safety or fairness," he said.VULNERABLE DEMOCRATS FLIP ON WOMEN'S SPORTS VOTE AFTER OPPOSING SIMILAR BILLS AS MIDTERMS LOOMBut in 2021, Talarico opposed House Bill 25, which required public-school athletes in interscholastic competition to compete according to the sex recorded on their birth certificates at or near birth, with limited exceptions.Earlier th...