Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico pushed back Wednesday night against the “crazy” health conspiracies that disrupted his campaign, while acknowledging that he had been deliberately “provocative” when he described God as non-binary.
Talarico, who has maintained a narrow but steady lead over Republican challenger Ken Paxton, appeared at a nationally televised CNN town hall less than three weeks before the midterm elections.
Moderator Erin Burnett opened the event by asking Talarico to address the “wild speculation” about his health. His nine-day absence from the campaign trail had fueled a wave of online conspiracy theories.
“I’m doing much better. I got a nasty case of the flu. I guess I’ve been shaking too many hands on the campaign trail, but I’m feeling much better and so excited to be here,” Talarico said.
Burnett followed up by asking whether the flu was the only reason he had stepped away and whether he would handle the situation differently in hindsight.
Talarico maintained that staying home had been the responsible choice.
“No, I think the responsible thing to do when you have something like the flu is to stay at home and not get other people sick,” the Democrat said.
“But you’re right, that decision to stay home for a week sent my opponent and his conspiracy theorists spiraling. I opened up social media and learned that I had apparently dropped out of the race, had flown to a mental hospital in Ohio. That I had died,” Talarico continued. “This is crazy. These false claims got millions of views online.”
Democratic Texas Senate candidate James Talarico addressed the “crazy” conspiracy theories surrounding his absence from the campaign trail, as well as his earlier comments describing God as “non-binary,” during a Wednesday night CNN town hall.
Several right-wing figures, including failed Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt, promoted the unfounded claim that Talarico had been sent to a mental health facility in Ohio.
The rumor quickly unraveled after the Ohio facility named in the claims, the Linder Center for Hope, publicly denied them.
“Conspiracy theorists can post anything they want on the internet. They get clicks. The billionaires who own the platforms get rich. We all get angry and nobody’s life gets any better,” Talarico said.
CNN also used a new town hall format, putting Talarico face-to-face with voters who disagreed with him on key issues. The exchanges made for some of the evening’s most compelling television.
In one exchange, a Christian voter asked Talarico to explain his decision to refer to God as “non-binary” during a 2021 debate on the floor of the Texas state legislature.
“When I said that I was being provocative,” Talarico replied. “And I want to admit that and come clean about that.”
“But I think what I was saying is actually not controversial theologically—the idea that we can’t define God using human categories,” he continued. “Not only did I say that, but the late Charlie Kirk said that. The late Pope Benedict said that.”
“And so yes, maybe I was doing that in an annoying way, I can admit that,” the candidate added.
Democrat James Talarico, left, faced Christian voter Sarah Gardner, right, who questioned his decision to describe God as “non-binary.”
CNN’s town hall format placed Democratic candidate James Talarico, right, across from voters who disagreed with him on major issues.
The questioner, Sarah Gardner, a small-business owner, immediately challenged his explanation.
‘I think we have to be careful using modern cultural terms when talking about God,’ she noted.
Talarico told her that was ‘very fair criticism.’
The Democratic candidate, who serves in the Texas House of Representatives, is also a seminary student, telling the audience he hoped to be a minister one day.
‘And preachers often will say something shocking in a sermon to get your attention,’ he said. ‘And that’s something I’m still learning how to do in a responsible way. And so I’m always going to take feedback from my fellow Christians.’
