Calen Razor
Mon, August 3, 2026
He's eating barbecue. He's winning over Joe Rogan. He's challenging his opponent to mano-a-mano televised faceoffs.
James Talarico is determined not to let his GOP challenger Ken Paxton's and Republicans' attacks on his masculinity define him in what has emerged as one of the party's loudest tactics in the crucial Senate race.
The Texas Democrat is working to position himself as a candidate focused on issues he says men actually care about instead of speculation about his diet, sexuality and religious beliefs.
"They've even called me a vegan, and those are fighting words in the state of Texas," Talarico said at a San Antonio rally this summer.
"Nowadays our culture tells young men that greatness is tearing other people down, is trolling and owning and dominating. But my dad showed me what real greatness looks like. He inspired me to serve," Talarico said at another rally in Houston, referencing how his dad often mowed the lawn of his elderly widowed neighbor without asking.
Talarico's attempt to reclaim the masculinity narrative by confronting the issue head-on could help propel him to flip a seat Democrats haven't held in nearly four decades, and which could determine control of the Senate next year.
It comes as both parties, in Texas and across the U.S., are fighting to win male voters — especially young, Black or Hispanic men — who in 2024 lurched to the right to help Republicans take control of the White House and Congress. The issue of masculinity has also been turbo-charged during Donald Trump's second term, with the president hosting UFC fights on the White House lawn and his Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth pushing for testosterone testing in the military.
If Talarico prevails, he could ultimately serve as a model for other Democratic candidates to connect with male voters or fend off Republicans who try to use issues of masculinity as a cudgel.
"Democrats need to be prepared for more of these attacks to come and understand how to handle them," Lucas Holtz, a senior political adviser at the centrist think tank Third Way, said in an interview.
Republicans think they've hit a nerve with Texas voters about Talarico's manhood. Members of the party have targeted the 37-year-old public school teacher-turned-state legislator for past statements endorsing a vegan lifestyle, suggesting that "God is nonbinary" and opposing legislation that erodes transgender rights.
"If you look at him, this is a guy who's publicly stated pretty bizarre things — that God is nonbinary," said Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas) in an interview. "He's a total weirdo, and I think Texas voters recognize that."
Talaricosaid recently his comment on God's gender was meant to be "deliberately provocative" and that he meant God is beyond gender.
Republicans are also seizing on Talarico's unmarried status and smaller physical build to paint the Democratic candidate as weak and effeminate. Some have falsely called him gay or transgender. Paxton's very first ad of the general election campaign implied Talarico has low testosterone levels. And a conservative PAC released an AI-generated video of Talarico as an actress from "The Sound of Music" singing about wanting to give hormones to children.
Talarico opposes gender affirming care for minors, his spokesperson JT Ennis said.
"In Texas, there's a certain level of tough guy-ness that we all pretend to have in ourselves, and that we like in our elected officials," said Vinny Minchillo, a Texas-based Republican admaker who is not involved in the race. "If you push that the right direction, that especially does not sit well with Hispanic men and Black men."
Paxton's campaign and his allies think Talarico's previous comments on these issues put him out of touch with voters in both parties.
"Texans can spot an audition for a new identity and they know he is weak and woke on core Texas values," Paxton adviser Nick Maddux said in a statement. Maddux pointed to moves Talarico has made during the campaign he said shows flip-flopping, such as wearing a Texas flag shirt after calling the American flag a "complicated symbol."
"He is undoubtedly hurting Democrats," Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said in an interview about Talarico.
Some Hill Democrats say Republicans' fixation on Talarico's manhood is an attempt to distract from Paxton's weaknesses.
"They fear his strength, especially since he's running against the most notorious scumbag in American politics," Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) said.
Paxton has faced an ethics complaint that was later dropped, a Justice Department corruption investigation for which he was not charged and securities fraud charges which were ultimately dismissed in an agreement. He was also impeached by the Texas GOP-led House for bribery and abusing his public office, which he called a "sham" coordinated by liberals, and was later acquitted by the Texas Senate.
Paxton also has a history of using cultural issues to his advantage, such as stoking anti-Muslim fears through campaign messaging.
Meanwhile, Talarico's campaign says they're not seeing evidence that the masculinity barbs are gaining traction, pointing to robust Democratic gains among Hispanic voters while also arguing that polling shows a toss-up general election contest. The campaign did not share specific data to support that its messaging to male voters was lifting Talarico's polling with that demographic.
Talarico has focused on issues he says affect many men — like lowering housing costs, stopping corporate landlord rent manipulation and curbing the influence of billionaire mega-donors in politics.
"Ken Paxton is picking these fights no one cares about to distract from the fact that he has no solutions to lower the cost of gas, groceries, or healthcare," Ennis said in a statement. "Real men serve others, weak men serve themselves."
Talarico also has tried to appeal to young men and Hispanic voters by placing ads during World Cup and NBA Finals games. And he's challenging Paxton to a series of televised debates, in which the two could spar on manhood and other issues. Paxton's team said he's agreed to the debates but they're still negotiating logistics and terms.
The Democrat's campaign also said it is trying to facilitate similar opportunities to Talarico's pivotal appearance on Joe Rogan's podcast last year, which boosted his national profile to millions of young men who make up Rogan's core audience. The podcaster — who during the interview exclaimed "you need to run for president," to Talarico — has continued to compliment the Texas Democrat and defend his views, including during a conversation with Vice President JD Vance last month.
Talarico has also fired back with his own jabs. He responded to Paxton calling him "Talafreako" by putting the phrase on T-shirts and selling them on his campaign website.
And Talarico turned on Paxton's low-testosterone message by telling MS NOW "I don't think guys my age are really concerned about that kind of thing," adding, "You've got these old guys lathered up in their fake tans throwing cheesy nicknames at each other."
Some public opinion research shows Talarico's strategy fits the 2026 moment.
The growing cost-of-living crisis — exacerbated by the deeply unpopular military conflict in Iran — and Trump's low approval ratings may mean the GOP's masculinity attacks fall flat this cycle, Luke Warford, founder and director of Texas Public Opinion Research, a nonpartisan public opinion research firm, said in an interview.
The top issues for men and young men in Texas center on affordability, the cost of living, economic growth and job creation, according to an aggregate of data shared with POLITICO from the group's latest surveys in May and June.
"We've got a really different scenario now where the Republicans are in power in Texas and nationally, so they own the things that are broken," Warford said. "There is a deep anti-establishment sentiment in this country and a deep frustration with the status quo particularly among men, and that could be a much stronger political force than the cultural attacks."
Matt Angle, founder of the Lone Star Project, a Democratic-aligned political action committee in Texas, said "there's no attack that should be ignored," but that Democrats are in a good position.
"Ken Paxton is no he-man. He's a thin-chested, soft spoken, weak guy," Angle said.
One warning sign for Talarico: a swath of male voters perceive him as too progressive, said Holtz, the Third Way adviser. Holtz noted a recent poll of men by the group in which 49 percent of respondents said the candidate was "too far left."
In focus groups held by the centrist think tank last year and this year, young men overwhelmingly pointed to the Republican Party as the better representative of men's priorities. Respondents in those groups associated Democrats with more social and cultural issues while tying Republicans with financial independence, finding a partner and starting a family.
On Capitol Hill, some Democrats are calling the conversation in Texas an opportunity to revisit the party's historic avoidance of issues that are important to men, which have made them more susceptible to criticism.
Rep. Marc Veasey, a moderate Texas Democrat, said in an interview that "Democrats, overall, need to do a better job of expressing some of the concerns that young men have."
"When we have people on our side who are attacking things like nuclear family structure and expecting everybody to fall in line, that's pure insanity," Veasey said. "There's this expectation with Democrats that men are just going to follow along, and they're not. We haven't figured out how to talk to them."
Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) said in an interview that Democrats tend to display examples of "traditional masculinity" rather than the "stereotypical masculinity" Republicans are attacking them for not adhering to. He pointed out he served in the Marines, Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) played football and Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) was an astronaut.
"What voters know is truly masculine is a politician who is going to take care of their needs and be a protector and be a provider for the family," Gallego added.
"When a man can't support his family because inflation is so fucking high, they're not going to care about who is on the ballot that is, quote unquote, 'not masc enough.'"
Democrats have a new problem as they try to win the Senate
Analysis by Aaron Blake, CNN
Mon, August 3, 2026
From left, Democratic Senate candidates Mary Peltola of Alaska, James Talarico of Texas and Sherrod Brown of Ohio during their campaigns. - Getty Images, AP
The big hurdle for Democrats' Senate majority hopes at the start of the 2026 election cycle seemed clear: The map was terrible for them.
They needed to win at least two states that President Donald Trump carried by double digits in 2024. It wasn't even clear they could put that many red states in play.
Now, polls increasingly suggest they have put more than enough of those states in play. But other hurdles that complicate their majority math have cropped up — creating an incredibly complex and high-stakes battle to control the Senate come 2027.
The good news for Democrats: Recent, early high-quality polling suggests red states are competitive. The bad news for the party: That might not be sufficient.
States in play
In Texas, a Fox News poll Friday showed Democratic state Rep. James Talarico at 51% among registered voters to state Attorney General Ken Paxton's 48%. It's merely the latest to show the race close to even.
In Iowa, state Rep. Josh Turek led by 4 points among registered voters in a Fox poll in late June. And he was neck and neck with GOP Rep. Ashley Hinson — 46% to 48% among likely voters — in a New York Times-Siena poll, also in late June.
In Ohio, former Sen. Sherrod Brown led by 8 points among registered voters in a Fox poll from early June. And he was running close with GOP Sen. Jon Husted — 47% to 50% among likely voters — in a Times-Siena poll from later that month.
And in Alaska, a Times-Siena poll showed Democratic former Rep. Mary Peltola within 2 points of GOP Sen. Dan Sullivan.
State Representative James Talarico, a Democrat from Texas and US Senate candidate, is hugged by a supporter during a Juneteenth march in Fort Worth, Texas, on Friday, June 19, 2026. Talarico will face Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton in November's general election. - Mark Felix/Bloomberg/Getty Images
Mary Peltola launches her campaign as a Democratic candidate for Senate in Anchorage, Alaska, on January 17, 2026. Peltola will face Republican Senate candidate Dan Sullivan. - Kerry Tasker/Reuters
Polling at this stage can't be interpreted to predict results, of course, but it suggests that these candidates are doing what they need to do to make those states competitive.
Specifically, the Fox polls show the three Democrats they tested carrying independents by wide margins — including by more than a 2-1 ratio in Talarico's and Turek's cases. And both Talarico and Turek were both also carrying at least 23% of non-MAGA Republicans. (The Ohio poll didn't break out this group.)
Peltola also led 51%-37% among independents and took 8% of Republicans in the Times-Siena poll.
Whether Democrats can actually get over the hump in a state like Texas — where they've come close before, but haven't won a statewide race in more than 30 years — is a big question. But they've pretty evidently given themselves a chance to pick off two of those states.
Why it might not be enough
Democrats are suddenly dealing with complications in some friendlier states — namely, Maine and Michigan — and the new x-factor known as Sen. John Fetterman.
In Maine, Democrats were able to rid themselves of their Graham Platner problem. But it's not yet clear how much better his replacement, former state Senate President Troy Jackson, will ultimately fare under the new spotlight.
Troy Jackson speaks on July 25, 2026, in Bangor, Maine. - Joe Raedle/Getty Images
A University of New Hampshire poll in mid-July put Jackson at 49% to GOP Sen. Susan Collins' 46% among likely general election voters. But the same pollster once had Platner (prior to his bigger controversies) leading by between 9 and 11 points.
Michigan is Democrats' more immediate concern, where they're playing defense to hold onto a seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Gary Peters. There are major concerns among some establishment Democrats that Sen. Bernie Sanders-backed Abdul El-Sayed, who's facing Rep. Haley Stevens in Tuesday's Democratic primary, might jeopardize a purple state that Democrats would reasonably expect to win in a favorable year for their party.
(A case in point: Recent polls show Democratic candidates comfortably ahead — by around 10 points — in similarly situated swing states like Georgia and North Carolina.)
But perhaps the most unwelcome variable in this majority math might be Fetterman. The Pennsylvania senator, who has demonstrated a penchant for siding with Republicans and giving his party fits in recent months, has also increasingly flirted with switching parties.
Back in May, Fetterman wrote that he had "no plans to leave" the Democratic Party. But a couple weeks ago, he amended that posture by saying he would leave it if it adopts an anti-Israel posture — a topic causing significant strife within the party.
US Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed holds a campaign rally in Detroit, Michigan, on July, 18, 2026. - Rebecca Cook/Reuters
US Sen. John Fetterman rides in an elevator outside the Senate Chambers during a vote in the U.S. Capitol Building on May 11, 2026 in Washington, DC. - Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Democrats have been trending more against Israel, reflecting the views of their base, though it isn't an "official" position, as Fetterman laid out. Still, given huge pressure from that base, the real question is how stringent a litmus test this is for the Pennsylvania senator.
That means Democrats could go into the November general election not even knowing how many seats they need to win. Do they need to flip four seats, including two red ones that Trump carried by significant margins, as they'd previously thought? Or do they need to actually win five and three, respectively?
Democrats clearly have the fundamentals on their side, and it's looking like the environment is conducive to them winning where they need to. Just like in the red states, polls show their candidates in Georgia and North Carolina have big leads among independents and are taking significant numbers of non-MAGA Republicans.
But it's also looking like it might not be red states that ultimately decide the fate of the Senate.
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