State Rep. James Talarico (D-50th District) has a fixation on trans children. That isn't new. But a newly resurfaced video proves it’s even worse than we thought.
We first learned about his creepy obsession with trans kids when a 2023 episode of Superbloom Podcast surfaced. In it, the host asked him what he loved besides family and friends. His response was, “I love, I'm just saying this because it's on my mind, the trans children.”
Creepy on its own. Now it looks like a preview of something worse.
A newly surfaced clip from Talarico's 2022 appearance on the Go Behind the Ballot podcast shows him gushing over transgender activist Ash Hall while discussing his legislative work and advocacy. Hall is a policy and advocacy strategist for LGBTQIA+ rights at the ACLU of Texas who has spent years fighting Texas legislation on transgender athletes, bathroom access, and medical treatment for transgender minors.
Talarico wasn't done fawning. "One of the best organizers at the Capitol is an activist named Ash Hall," he said. "Ash does a lot of the work for the trans community in Texas and is an outspoken advocate for trans kids in particular. And during the horrible debate about the [University Interscholastic League] bill that discriminated against trans children in sports, Ash wrote a personal note to the former chairman of the education committee, Dan Huberty. And it was really kind of. It wasn't about policy, it was just about who Ash is as a human being and what their experience has been like in life. What this bill would have done to them, and what it's doing to trans kids across Texas”
🚨 UNEARTHED
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) September 3, 2026
James Talarico GUSHES over "nonbinary transgender" activist Ash Hall — who won a "Trans Activist of the Year Award":
"One of the best organizers at the Capitol is an activist named Ash Hall. Ash...is an outspoken advocate for trans kids in particular." pic.twitter.com/IC0aIT24io
Republicans now have fresh ammunition, and they're using it. The footage is surfacing as the GOP works to make Talarico's past statements on gender and cultural issues defining themes of the general election.
The funny thing is that Talarico, apparently realizing his actual worldview makes him unelectable statewide, is trying to rebrand himself. He now claims he opposes gender reassignment surgery for minors, a position that conveniently ignores his own record. In 2023, he voted against a Texas measure that would have restricted gender-transition procedures for minors.
ICYMI: Did Jessica Tarlov Accuse Gutfeld of Being Antisemitic?
His campaign's explanation for his flip-flop is about as convincing as his professed love of trans children. Aides claim his opposition stemmed from broader concerns, including proposed amendments that would have affected children with unrelated medical conditions, not objections to restricting the surgeries themselves. Sure.
We all know what’s really going on.
Polls consistently show most Americans reject the left's radical gender agenda for children, and you can bet it’s not an agenda that is mainstream in Texas. Obviously, Talarico appears to have figured that out, which is why he's suddenly trying to distance himself from the very policies his favorite activist has spent a decade championing. But make no mistake about it, no last-minute rebrand erases his long and well-documented past of supporting the mutilation of the healthy bodies of children. Texas voters have the receipts, and they're not going to forget it.
Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
Help PJ Media continue to report on the Democrats’ radicalism and inform voters as our nation faces a crossroads. Join PJ Media VIP and use promo code FIGHT to receive 60% off your membership.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member