Vice President JD Vance took a shot at Texas Democrat Senate candidate James Talarico during a rally in Tyler, Texas.
As he prepared to speak, a man in the audience shouted, “I love you!”
Vance replied, “I love you too, sir. In a totally platonic way, to be clear. I love you too. I'm the Vice President, not James Talarico.”
"I love you too, sir, and in a totally platonic way... I'm the vice president, not James Talarico." VP Vance takes a shot at Texas Democrat James Talarico during an exchange with the crowd at his Texas midterm rally. https://t.co/IX3KZ7dbKf
— Fox News (@FoxNews) October 13, 2026
Vance has taken several shots at the candidate since he won the Democrat primary race earlier this year. During another event, Vance said Talarico “will not shut up about how there are sex genders. He will not shut up about how, quote, ‘God is nonbinary.’”
I don't know what the hell that even means, my friends. He won't shut up about how having traditional Christian values makes you a bigot. And I got to say, a guy that age who is so obsessed and focused on transgender children, I don't know about you, but I never want to see that guy's web browser history.
“I never want to see that guy’s web browser history.” JD Vance calls out Texas Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico at the Republican midterm convention in Dallas, targeting his past comments about sex, gender and God. “This Talarico guy, he will not shut up about how there are six genders.”
— Fox News (@FoxNews) September 11, 2026
Talarico has made LGBTQ issues a centerpiece of his political career and has made many statements on these matters that have come back to haunt him in his current campaign.
While discussing a 2021 bill that would prevent biological males from competing in women’s and girls’ sports. “God is both masculine and feminine and everything in between. God is nonbinary,” Talarico declared on the Texas House floor.
During the primary, James Talarico told at least two groups whose endorsement he sought that he would sponsor or support the Equality Act — legislation that would prohibit discrimination on gender identity and sexual orientation. His campaign isn't confirming if that's still his position. https://t.co/UEG2WE4Tzd
— Natalie Allison (@natalie_allison) October 9, 2026
During a 2021 committee hearing, he said, “Modern science obviously recognizes that there are many more than two biological sexes. In fact, there are six.”
The candidate has tried distancing himself from some of his past comments. During an interview, he admitted that he “missed the mark on some of my past statements” and affirmed that “There are not six sexes. There are two.”