What has James Talarico said on LGBTQ+ rights?

James Talarico is quickly becoming a favourite among Democrats after winning the Democratic nomination for the Texas primaries earlier this week, but who is he and what are his views on LGBTQ+ rights?

The 36-year-old “rising star” in liberal political spaces secured the Democratic nomination on Tuesday (3 March).

It came after Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, also an LGBTQ+ ally, conceded the race, calling on Democrats to “remain united” against a potential GOP win.

“This is bigger than any one person,” she said. “This is about the future of all 30 million Texans and getting America back on track.”

An elated Talarico celebrated the win in Austin, telling supporters: “We are not just trying to win an election. We are trying to fundamentally change our politics. And it’s working.”

For many, Talarico represents a shift in Democratic political strategy towards younger, more progressive candidates that are focused on egalitarian issues such as the cost of living or the growing economic divide between the working class and the 1%.

The GOP primary remains ongoing after no candidate won more than 50 per cent of the vote on 3 March. Senator John Cornyn, who has represented the state in Congress for over two decades, is narrowly inching ahead of Texas attorney general Ken Paxton, according to The Washington Post.

What has James Talarico said on LGBTQ+ rights?

James Talarico’s progressive political positions certainly don’t stop at LGBTQ+ rights. The Democrat has, over his political career, made a number of comments in support of the community and addressed the growing wave of anti-LGBTQ+ attacks in politics and the media.

The former public school teacher made headlines in 2023 after voicing his opposition to a bill that would force schools to put the Ten Commandments in every classroom across the state. Speaking to POLITICO at the time, he argued it was not only unconstitutional, but “deeply un-Christian”.

A firmly religious figure, Talarico, who describes himself as a “devout Christian”, used the coverage to voice his support for gender-affirming care programs for transgender youngsters, saying that he dreads every floor debate which attempts to ban life-saving medical interventions for under-18s.

His support for the trans community stems as far back as 2021 when he publicly condemned a GOP-led anti-trans medical care ban by describing trans children as “God’s children”.

“God is both masculine, feminine, and everything in between,” he said during a statement at the time. “God is non-binary.

“In Genesis 1:26, God speaks of God’s self in the plural, saying ‘let us make human beings in our image to be like us.’ That’s the infinite multitude of God. The masculine, the feminine, and everything in between. Trans children are God’s children, made in God’s own image. There is nothing wrong with them.”

In the lead-up to the Democratic primary, Talarico remained steadfast in his support for the community, saying in February that GOP lawmakers were attacking trans youth simply to score “political points”.

Speaking to New York Times columnist Ezra Klein, he heavily criticised the waft of anti-trans sports bans in Texas and across the US, saying that Republicans did not want to “solve a problem”, but were trying to gain votes off the back of a “vulnerable community.”

In March, Talarico once again went viral after accusing Christian nationalists of trying to “twist a religion of love to justify their hate.”

He added: “Being a Christian is about loving thy neighbour, not bullying LGBTQ people, chasing pregnant women across state lines, harassing librarians, silencing teachers and defunding our schools.”

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