James Talarico Just Came Clean When a Voter Asked Him About Drag Performers and His Response Left Texans Stunned

A Texas voter walked up to James Talarico at a campaign stop and asked him to name his favorite.

Talarico actually answered him.

And it has Ken Paxton saying it is proof that Talarico is "too weird and too radical for Texas."

Talarico Answered the Drag Queen Question in Two Seconds Flat

A bystander recorded the moment, and conservative accounts had the clip circulating before the event was even over.

A man approached Talarico to shake his hand.

"Mr. Talarico, so nice to meet you," he said. "I was there when you defended the drags."

Then he asked it straight: "Who's your favorite drag queen in Texas?"

Talarico didn't pause.

"Oh, my gosh," he said. "Probably Alyssa Edwards."

Justin Dwayne Lee Johnson performs under the name Alyssa Edwards, a RuPaul's Drag Race alum who later starred in Netflix's 2018 docuseries Dancing Queen, built around the children's dance studio he runs.

The Dallas Observer reported that Johnson referred to a 10-year-old student at that studio as his "mini-me," and that the boy dressed as Alyssa Edwards for an episode of the show.

Johnson told Out magazine he once shared the World Pride stage in New York with his own dance students, calling it one of the most intense moments of his life.

This isn't the first time Talarico's drag associations have surfaced in this race.

The Washington Free Beacon reported that Talarico headlined a 2021 event called Taylor PRIDE, where an 11-year-old boy performed in drag under the name Kween Kee Kee.

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Talarico's Campaign Points the Finger At Paxton Instead

Fox News Digital asked the Talarico campaign for a response.

Spokesman JT Ennis didn't defend the comment.

He pivoted straight to the attorney general instead.

"James' favorite performer is Ken Paxton, who dresses up as attorney general while giving sweetheart deals to child sex predators," Ennis said.

RNC spokesman Zach Kraft was blunter.

"Questions need to be asked about why a 37-year-old unmarried man says his favorite thing in the world is transgender kids and his favorite entertainer is a gender-confused person who grooms little boys," Kraft told Townhall.

Kraft didn't stop there, calling Talarico "a creepy pervert at best and a full blown criminal pedophile at worst."

Paxton brought it up himself, unprompted, at the Texas GOP's midterm convention in Dallas.

He told the crowd Talarico is "obsessed with transitions" and wants to "transition your kids."

"How about we transition him and his crazy ideas right out of Texas," Paxton said.

This Is Not Talarico's First Gender Controversy

Talarico spent 2021 telling voters that "God is non-binary."

Paxton brought that line up at the same convention.

"He calls himself a Christian who hates Christianity, said God is non-binary," Paxton said. "I must have missed that verse in the Bible."

A resurfaced clip from earlier this year shows Talarico telling an interviewer that the thing he loves most, apart from family, is "trans children."

Talarico has since tried to walk it back.

He told CBS News he "missed the mark" with some of his past comments.

Asked directly about gender, he offered a more careful answer.

"I know there are two sexes, men and women," Talarico said. "I also know there's a very small percentage of people who have these chromosomal abnormalities, and I believe they deserve to be treated with dignity and respect."

He's also tried to laugh the attacks off.

When Paxton started calling him "TalaFreako," Talarico's campaign started selling T-shirts with the nickname printed on them.

Fifty Days Out, Talarico Is Betting Voters Care More About Paxton Than About Him

Texas Democrats haven't won a Senate race in decades, and national Democrats think Talarico is finally the nominee who breaks that streak.

Republicans know how radical he really is and keep pulling out the receipts instead of letting him run on "THE PEOPLE vs. KEN PAXTON," the courtroom framing Talarico’s campaign wants to run on.

Pennsylvania Democrats learned a version of this lesson in 2023, when a state senator who defended a Planned Parenthood-linked drag event for teens was branded a "groomer" and "depraved" by critics almost overnight.

With fifty days left before Texans vote, Talarico is betting he can turn a stranger's question into a punchline before Paxton turns it into an anchor.

Sources:

• Charles, "Talarico nombra al instante a su drag queen favorita de Texas, una artista que dice que trabaja con niños," Fox News, September 14, 2026.
• Joe Chalfant, "James Talarico Just Revealed His 'Favorite Drag Queen,'" Townhall, September 14, 2026.
• Just the News Staff, "Paxton Slams Talarico Stance on Transitions: 'Transition Him and His Crazy Ideas Right Out of Texas,'" Just the News, September 2026.
• CBS News Staff, "James Talarico Interview on Ken Paxton and the Texas Senate Race," CBS News, September 2026.
• PBS NewsHour Staff, "Talarico Targets Paxton's Scandals in Texas Senate Race, Pivoting From His Sunny Primary Message," PBS NewsHour, September 2026.
• Fox News Staff, "Dem State Senator Blasted as a 'Groomer,' 'Depraved' for Boasting Support of Drag Queen Event for Minors," Fox News, 2023.