Ken Paxton didn’t wait long. Days after winning the Texas Republican Senate primary runoff, the former state attorney general went after his Democratic opponent with a shot that had nothing to do with policy: he called state Rep. James Talarico “too low-T for Texas.”
The attack – a reference to testosterone levels — put masculinity at the center of a race that’s already drawing national attention heading into November.
Talarico, a Democrat who flipped a suburban Austin seat in 2018 and has held it since, is now the party’s Senate nominee. Paxton’s framing of him as insufficiently masculine is a deliberate opening move in what shapes up as a general-election campaign built partly around gender identity as a political wedge.
The “low-T” line isn’t an accident of phrasing. It maps onto a broader current in Republican politics where displays of physical toughness, traditional male identity, and contempt for what critics call gender ideology have become standard campaign tools — particularly in statewide Texas races where the GOP base expects a certain combative register from its candidates.
Paxton himself carries a complicated record into the race. He spent years fighting federal prosecution on securities fraud charges before the Justice Department dropped the case in 2024. He was also impeached by the Texas House in 2023 on allegations of bribery and abuse of office before the Texas Senate acquitted him. None of that has dulled his standing with the state’s Republican base.
Talarico, for his part, hasn’t shied from the exchange. His response – and whether he tries to reframe the masculinity question or simply pivot to other ground – will be one of the defining tactical choices of his campaign.
NPR published its report on the race Friday, May 30, 2026, with photography by Danielle Villasana. The general election matchup between Paxton and Talarico hasn’t yet produced polling that would indicate where the race stands.
Originally reported by NPR. Read the original report.
