Democratic Texas Senate candidate James Talarico used a Fox News interview to walk back several of his most controversial past remarks, saying he would support a national ban on gender-transition surgery for minors and that he opposes transgender women competing in girls' and women's sports where it affects safety or fairness. The shift comes as Talarico's race against Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, which polling suggests is unexpectedly tight, enters its closing months in a contest both parties view as pivotal to control of the Senate and, by extension, President Donald Trump's legislative agenda.

Talarico defended his 2023 vote against a Texas bill banning gender surgery, puberty blockers and hormone treatments for minors, saying it was "overly broad" and that he had unsuccessfully backed a Democratic amendment to narrow its scope. He also disowned two widely quoted 2021 comments, that "God is non-binary" and that there are six genders, calling the God remark "provocative" and admitting he "missed the mark," insisting there are only two sexes aside from a small proportion of people with genetic differences. The interview took place at a Dallas campaign event on Tuesday, held near the site of the first-ever GOP midterm convention, and Talarico continued to criticise his opponents despite softening his own past positions.