Texas State Rep. James Talarico, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Texas, walked back a past claim that there were six biological sexes, telling Fox News in an interview that he had gotten the matter wrong and that there are two sexes.
The exchange, reported by Breitbart News, centered on a remark Talarico made during a 2021 hearing of the Texas State House Public Education Committee.
The Exchange
Fox News correspondent Brooke Taylor pressed Talarico on the earlier comment directly.
“During the 2021 hearing, you said there are six biological sexes,” Taylor said. “Do you still believe that standing here with me right now?”
Talarico said he did not. “No, I’ve missed the mark on some of my past statements,” he replied. “I will be the first to admit it.”
He went on to clarify what he said he had meant at the time, describing the category as narrow and distinct from the broader biological classification. “What I meant is that there are two sexes, and then there’s a small percentage of people with genetic abnormalities,” Talarico said. “Obviously, I didn’t say it correctly. There are not six sexes, there are two.”
He then pivoted toward the economic message he said he intends to carry through to Election Day, arguing that the focus on the issue distracts from voter concerns about costs.
“And I think the reason that politicians in that convention center across the street want to talk about six sexes is because they don’t want to talk about $6 diesel,” Talarico said. “Everywhere I go across the State of Texas people are struggling to survive in this economy. They are struggling to afford the basics, groceries, gas, utilities, health care. And that’s what I’m going to be focused on from now until Election Day.”
Taylor followed up to confirm the answer, asking Talarico whether he could say confidently that there are two sexes, a man and a woman.
A Shift From a 2021 Committee Hearing
The original comment came during Talarico’s time in the Texas Legislature, where he has represented a state House district and sat on the Public Education Committee. His 2021 remarks about six biological sexes have circulated since then, and the Fox News interview marked a direct repudiation of them in his own words.
His response also reflects the political balancing act facing a statewide Democratic candidate in Texas, where a general-election audience is more conservative on cultural questions than a primary electorate. Talarico’s answer conceded the underlying factual dispute while attempting to steer the conversation to kitchen-table economics — a familiar strategy for down-ballot Democrats running in Republican-leaning states.
The sequence also shows how past legislative-hearing remarks can resurface as campaign opposition research, particularly once a lawmaker moves from a state House seat into a statewide race. Republicans have used similar clips against Democratic candidates in other states in recent cycles, and Talarico’s team appears aware that the 2021 clip will continue to draw attention.
By addressing the question head-on rather than declining to engage, Talarico chose a course that avoids leaving an ambiguous answer on the record. Whether that defuses the issue or keeps it alive likely depends on how much oxygen it receives in the closing stretch of the Senate race.
What Comes Next
Talarico said his focus from now until Election Day will remain on affordability — groceries, gas, utilities, and health care — rather than on social issues he accused his opponents of preferring to discuss.
The Texas Senate race is expected to be one of the most closely watched contests in the country, and the Democratic nominee’s attempt to reframe the exchange as an economic argument rather than a cultural one is likely to be tested again on the campaign trail.
Source: www.breitbart.com — https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2026/09/09/talarico-on-six-biological-sexes-comments-ive-missed-the-mark-on-some-of-my-past-statements/