Texas Democrats Found Their Senate Star and He Knows His Favorite Drag Queen by Name

Ken Paxton spent months warning Texas voters that James Talarico was too radical for the Lone Star State.

Then Talarico opened his mouth and proved it himself.

The name Talarico blurted out without hesitation has Democrats quietly panicking about what November could look like.

The Man Behind the Name Talarico Couldn't Wait to Say

The name Talarico instantly supplied was Alyssa Edwards – the stage name of Justin Dwayne Lee Johnson, a Mesquite, Texas performer who has publicly described himself as "a drag performer that works with children."

Johnson runs the Beyond Belief Dance Company, a competitive studio training kids as young as six years old.

He has been outspoken for years about bringing young dancers into drag-adjacent performance culture.

Republicans plastered social media with photos of Johnson posing alongside young students from his dance studio, including a 9-year-old he has singled out as a favorite during competitive events.

Johnson himself leaned into the moment online, publicly thanking Talarico for the shoutout.

Republican spokesman Zach Kraft went straight for the jugular.

"Huge endorsement for James Talarico from his favorite drag queen who grooms little boys," Kraft said.

Paxton mocked the answer just as hard, telling voters no normal candidate rattles off a favorite drag queen that fast.

This Was Not a Slip – This Is Who Talarico Actually Is

Texas voters need to understand what they are actually looking at here.

Talarico is not a moderate who stumbled.

He is a man who stood on the Texas House floor in 2021 and declared "God is nonbinary."

He told a podcast host that same year that he thinks of himself as "a Christian who hates Christianity."

He told a legislative committee in 2023 that modern science recognizes six biological sexes.

He pledged to run a vegan campaign as recently as 2022.

He once praised Texas as home to some of the best drag performers in the country – and then proved it by naming his favorite on command.

Now he calls all of it embarrassing and shows up at Texas barbecue joints for the cameras.

The man who declared God nonbinary does not suddenly believe it was a mistake because he is running statewide.

He believes exactly what he believed in 2021 – he just hired consultants who told him to keep quiet about it until November.

Democrats Needed This Race. Talarico Just Gave It Away.

Here is why this matters beyond one embarrassing clip.

Democrats entered this race smelling blood.

Ken Paxton survived a bruising Republican primary against incumbent John Cornyn, a race Cornyn spent tens of millions of dollars on, airing every piece of dirt on Paxton's impeachment trial, his corruption charges, his ugly divorce.

Paxton won that primary with 63.8% of the vote but arrived at the general election battered and carrying baggage.

Polling showed a dead heat – a July New York Times/Siena survey put the race at 47-47, and a Texas Southern University poll had Talarico up by two points.

Democrats were dreaming about flipping a Texas Senate seat for the first time in more than 30 years, and the drag queen answer just handed Paxton a weapon that undoes five months of careful rebranding in one clip.

Ken Paxton is not a perfect candidate.

But James Talarico just handed him exactly the opening he needed.

Analysis

The pattern here is worth recognizing because Democrats keep falling into it.

A candidate from a deep-blue district with a decade of radical social media content decides to run statewide.

Consultants tell him to moderate.

He talks about flood victims in Kerrville and grocery prices in Dallas.

Then someone asks him a casual question at a campaign event, and out comes the real answer – the unguarded, enthusiastic, zero-hesitation answer that reveals exactly who he is.

Talarico did not have to think about his favorite drag queen.

He had one ready.

That is not the answer of a man who has genuinely moved toward the center.

That is the answer of a man who is comfortable enough with the radical left's cultural priorities that they live in his instant recall, right alongside his campaign talking points about corrupt politicians and broken systems.

Texas is a state that voted for Donald Trump by nearly 14 points in 2024.

The voters Talarico needs to win do not have a favorite drag queen.

Most of them are asking why a grown man running for United States Senate does.

Sources:

• Charles Creitz, "Talarico instantly names his favorite drag queen, a performer who 'works with children'," Fox News, September 14, 2026.
• Susan Ferrechio, "Talarico dragged down by drag queen in toss-up Texas Senate race," The Washington Times, September 16, 2026.
• Hannity Staff, "'Too Weird for Texas': Talarico Torched for Quickly Naming His Favorite Drag Queen," Sean Hannity, September 15, 2026.
• Peter Pinedo and Paul Steinhauser, "'God is non-binary': Texas Dem nominee Talarico's past remarks on abortion, race and gender draw scrutiny," Fox News, 2026.
• Emma Colton, "Texas Dem who said God is 'nonbinary' now says atheists are more 'Christ-like' than Christian colleagues," Fox News, January 31, 2026.
• Fox News Digital, "Talarico says he 'hates Christianity' in unearthed interview with transgender 'Latinx' theologian," Fox News, 2026.