From ‘God is non-binary’ to the Bible justifies abortion: Rising Dem’s top hot takes

Running as a moderate with bipartisan appeal, Texas state Rep. James Tallarico won Rep. Jasmine Crockett defeatedThe Texas Democrat running for the Democratic Senate nomination has a history of making controversial statements on matters of religion, race, gender, border security and beyond.

With Talarico in the national spotlight for the first time, many commentators and strategists are re-highlighting some of his past statements. Among them is Talarico’s 2021 video on Texas House floor In Austin they oppose a bill that would ban men from women’s sports and claim that “God is non-binary.”

“God is masculine, feminine, and everything in between. God is non-binary,” Tallarico said, adding that “transgender children are children of God, created in the image of God.”

Talarico, a Presbyterian seminarian, delivers many of his political positions in Christian language and the Bible. However, while speaking on a January episode of Ezra Klein ShowTalarico appears to conflate Christianity with other religions, including Hinduism and Islam.

Texas State Rep. James Tallarico, D-Austin, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, speaks at a primary election watch event Tuesday, March 3, 2026, in Austin, Texas. (Eric Jay/AP Photo)

“I believe that Jesus Christ reveals this truth to us, but I also believe that other traditions reveal this truth in their own ways, in their own simple structures. And I learned more about my own traditions by learning more about Buddhism and Hinduism and Islam and Judaism. And so, I see these beautiful religious traditions as being about the same truth about the cosmos, about the cosmos,” he said.

Despite his use of biblical language, Tallarico’s positions on many fundamental religious issues stand in stark contrast to most traditional positions. Christian denominations.

He has used the Bible to defend abortion, and on his campaign website, he called for Roe v. Wade to be codified into national law. In an episode of “The Joe Rogan Experience“Last year, Tallarico said the story of Jesus Christ’s incarnation justified his support of abortion.

“I say all this in the context of abortion, because before God comes to Mary, and we get the incarnation, God asks for Mary’s consent… So for me, this is confirmation in one of our most important stories that creation has to be done with consent. You can’t force someone to create… So, that’s how I approach that aspect of the issue.”

after supreme court “This summer, more than half of our population became second-class citizens,” said Tallarico, who overturned Roe in 2022. “Every one of our neighbors who have a womb has become property of the state. There is nothing more un-Christian.”

In a video clip that went viral on social media, Talarico appears to be giving a sermon in a church in which he says: “Did they teach you in Sunday school that Jesus Christ himself was an extreme feminist?”

Beyond religion, he also took positions that contradicted common scientific understanding. At a Texas House Public Education Committee hearing, he stated that “modern science clearly recognizes that there are more than two biological sexes; in fact, there are six.”

During the same hearing, he went further, saying: “The point is that sex, biologically, scientifically, is a spectrum, and oftentimes it can be very ambiguous.”

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Texas State Rep. James Tallarico on the floor of the Texas House of Representatives in Austin. (James Talarico Senate campaign)

In another sermon, he said that the use of the term “women” in the context of women’s rights should not be understood as an “inclusive” term.

“Our trans community needs abortion care, too,” he said. “Advocating for trans people in Texas is something we have to do every day at the state Capitol, and you better believe I’m going to be giving speeches about that, too, so when I use the word ‘woman,’ it shouldn’t be understood as an all-encompassing lens through which we understand, examine, and interrogate patriarchy. Similar to how we define anti-Black racism.”

In a 2020 tweet seriesTallarico referred to racism as a “virus” spread by all white people, regardless of whether they exhibit its “symptoms.”

“White skin gives me and every white American immunity to the virus. But we spread it wherever we go — through our words, actions, and systems. We don’t have to be showing symptoms — like a white hood or a Confederate flag — to be contagious,” he wrote, adding: “The only cure is to diagnose the virus within ourselves and take dramatic action to contain the spread. The first small step is to loudly and unequivocally declare that #BlackLivesMatter.”

During the Senate campaign, Tallarico framed his candidacy as opposition to billionaires, who he said were “ruining” the United States.

“The only thing the media wants to ask me about is transgender athletes,” he said during an interview with MSNBC. “The only minority that is ruining this country are billionaires.” “Trans people are 1% of the population. Undocumented people are 1% of the population. We’re all focused on the wrong 1%. Trans people are not depriving us of health care. Undocumented people are not depriving our schools of funding. It’s the billionaires and their client politicians.”

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Dallas police investigate the scene where a shooter opened fire at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility, Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025, in Dallas. (Stuart F. House)

He was also strongly criticized US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officersHe accused them of using terrorism to target migrant families.

“These are our neighbors who deserve so much better than ICE terrorizing them and their children, and ICE tearing families apart,” he said in an interview with local outlet KRWG.

Regarding border security, Tallarico said during the Texas Democratic Senate debate against Crockett that “our southern border should be like a front porch. There should be a giant welcome mat at the front and a lock on the door.”

He continued: “We can welcome immigrants who want to live the American dream. We can build a path to citizenship for those neighbors who were here, making us richer and stronger, and we can keep out people who mean to do us harm.”

Tallarico defeated Crockett in the Democratic primary by a comfortable margin despite already having a national following. Now, Democrats believe Tallarico has a good chance of flipping the Texas Senate seat blue for the first time in 33 years.

Among Talarico’s top supporters is progressive Rep. Greg Cassar, D-Texas, who celebrated his primary victory by posting on X that “James Talarico is the future Democratic Party“.

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State Rep. James Tallarico, Democratic Senate candidate in Texas, shakes hands with supporters at his primary night celebration, March 3, 2026, in Austin. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)

“It unites workers of all stripes to stand up to billionaires who make life too expensive. And it will show Texas Republicans how powerful workers are when we stand together. Toward victory in November,” Cassar wrote.

JT Ennis, Talarico’s campaign spokesman, responded to Fox News Digital’s request for comment by dismissing criticism of Talarico’s comments as “old attacks to mislead Texans.”

In an email statement, Ennis told Fox News Digital that “John Cornyn, Ken Paxton, Greg Abbott and the billionaires who support them are afraid of James Tallarico for good reason: Our campaign is building a movement that is poised to change the politics of this state and take back power for working people.”

“While they launch age-old attacks to mislead Texans, we are uniting the people of Texas to win in November.”

Meanwhile, conservative pundits believe Tallarico will fail to gain the bipartisan appeal needed to flip Texas blue.

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Matthew Schmitz, a conservative commentator, wrote on

Tallarico will face either incumbent Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, or state Attorney General Ken Paxton, depending on which candidate emerges victorious from the GOP primary runoff election. The Republican runoff election will be held on May 26**, and** the general election will be held on November 3.

Talarico and Casar did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.

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