Talarico on ‘God is nonbinary’ remark: ‘I was being provocative’

Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico said his remark from 2021 that “God is nonbinary” was an attempt at “being provocative.”

Talarico responded to a question during a town hall hosted by CNN and Jubilee Media. He was pressed about the comment by Sarah Gardner, a voter from his hometown of Round Rock, who said the rhetoric “led a lot of Christian voters to question the authenticity” of his faith.

“The first comment about God not being defined by gender, when I said that, I was being provocative,” Talarico replied. “I think what I was saying is actually not controversial theologically.”

He added, “The idea that we can’t define God using human categories. Not only did I say that, but the late Charlie Kirk said that. The late Pope Benedict said that.”

Gardner urged Talarico to be more careful when using “modern cultural terms when talking about God.”

The Democrat acknowledged this and added that preachers will often say things that are “shocking in a sermon to get your attention.”

“That’s something I’m still learning how to do in a responsible way … where I’m actually communicating what I mean and not muddying the waters,” he said.

Faith had been a major topic of the night, as Talarico told voters “the cross is the shape of reality … at the center of our shared faith.” He also told an independent Texan about his support for abortion rights in the context of his faith, adding that voters can find “common ground” on such policies even if they make “different moral and ethical conclusions” about abortion.

“What I think we can do is actually come together on reducing the number of unplanned pregnancies and the number of abortions, because if we treat this issue as a public health problem and not a culture war problem, then we can actually make progress together,” the candidate continued.

Talarico left any mention of his Republican opponent , Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, until the end of the town hall and urged voters to judge his policies on their own merit instead of simply voting against Paxton.

CNN’s Erin Burnett concluded the town hall by saying Paxton was invited to attend Wednesday’s forum, but the network received no response.

The GOP candidate has avoided Talarico’s calls for a debate , though President Trump encouraged the Texas attorney general to participate in one .

The Hill’s election partner Decision Desk HQ shows Talarico with a 56 percent probability of winning the race compared with Paxton’s 44 percent.

Talarico led Paxton in three new polls this week in the race to claim Sen. John Cornyn’s (R-Texas) seat in the battleground race. Cornyn was ousted by Paxton during a primary runoff election in May.

No Democrat has won statewide in Texas since 1994, and the party has not won a Senate race in the Lone Star State since 1988. Talarico’s consistent lead in public polling has the party feeling optimistic in the final stretch before November’s election.