Texas Senate Race Turns Into a Battle Over Who Is More of a Man

Talarico, a Texas state representative, has responded by promoting a version of masculinity that is centered on service and integrity, along the way taking subtle digs at the   character of Paxton , the state’s attorney general.

The hotly contested race for Senate in Texas has become ugly early with open sparring between the candidates over who is more of a man. Paxton’s team is sensing an opening with   Texas Hispanic voters , who have moved sharply to the right in recent election cycles. The thinking among Paxton’s aides is that they can successfully cast Talarico as not strong enough to represent Texas in Washington.

“Machismo is important to these voters, to know who’s a fighter and who’s weak,” said Paxton campaign adviser   Nick Maddux.

In 2024, the historically blue Rio Grande Valley went red for the first time in living memory, voting 52% for   Donald Trump, though there have been early signs of   support for the GOP   slipping with Latino voters in the region and nationally. The Paxton campaign said it believes that Trump projected a tough-guy image that helped the president in the state, including with voters who supported Democrats farther down the ballot.

Even before winning the Republican primary runoff last month, Paxton’s campaign began calling Talarico “Low-T”—a reference to testosterone—after testing out derogatory nicknames.

“Some people know him as Tofu Talarico, and some people call him Six-Gender Jimmy,” Paxton said with a smile, to cheers, at his primary runoff victory party. “Others refer to him simply as Low-T Talarico.”

The nickname is just one of the ways Paxton and other Republicans have attacked Talarico and injected the discussion of masculinity into the race.

A major political-action committee supporting Paxton has put out ads saying, “Low-T Talarico, too weak for Texas.” A Trump adviser,   Stephen Miller, posted on social media, calling Talarico the party’s “first transgender senate candidate.” (He isn’t transgender.) Others posting on social media speculated about Talarico’s sexual orientation until his girlfriend’s identity became public.

In a recent Fox News interview, U.S. Rep.   Brandon Gill   (R., Texas), a Paxton ally, called Talarico “effeminate” and “barely straight.” Citizens for Sanity, a Trump-aligned political-action committee, recently bought an AI deepfake ad showing Talarico in a dress reminiscent of “The Sound of Music,” singing about transgender children.

On the campaign trail, Talarico has leaned in to the discussion about masculinity, telling a story about his adoptive dad embracing fatherhood and quietly mowing a neighbor’s lawn when no one was looking. He has used the opportunity to take digs at Paxton, who is in the middle of a divorce filed by his wife, alleging infidelity.

“A man takes responsibility, he upholds his commitments to his family and his neighbors, and he does what’s right, even when no one is watching,” Talarico said at a recent campaign stop. “Here’s what real men don’t do: They don’t lie and cheat their way through life.”

Mike Madrid, an expert on Latino voting and a GOP consultant who has been critical of Paxton, called the idea of Hispanic voters being drawn to machismo a stereotype.

“These are the mistakes I’ve seen Republicans make for 30 years when you have white bros in DC using cartoon caricatures,” said Madrid, who helped found the anti-Trump Lincoln Project.

Latino voters have consistently cited the economy and “kitchen table” cost issues as their priority in recent election cycles, which Democrats have said will benefit them this year in the midst of persistent inflation. As of this week, 65% of Latino voters nationally disapproved of Trump’s job performance, according to a Cook Political Report polling aggregate, up from 53% when tracking began in March 2025.

Maddux said the Paxton campaign’s efforts to paint Talarico as weak aren’t about appearances, but about positioning the race as a choice between “a fighter who shares our values and has spent a career defending them” and “a radical progressive dressed up in Sunday clothes.” Republicans have amplified past comments by Talarico, such as calling God nonbinary.

Paxton’s Texas political career has been forged in fire. He has survived scandals ranging from a securities-fraud indictment (resolved with a pretrial deal) to an impeachment in the GOP-controlled state House of Representatives (Paxton was acquitted by the state Senate). Talarico, a   Bible scholar   with a boyish face, was the state’s youngest state legislator when he took office in 2018, at age 29.

The Talarico team expected charges of weakness as typical Republican-on-Democrat attacks, a person close to the campaign said. Democrats have struggled in recent election cycles with male voters, particularly white men who don’t have a four-year college degree.

Talarico’s aides are skeptical that most voters know that “Low-T” refers to testosterone and believe the masculinity conversation is a good opportunity, the person close to the campaign said. If the contest becomes about appearance, the campaign believes voters will find Talarico’s vibes more favorable than Paxton’s, the person added.

In the Democratic primary on March 3, Talarico beat U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett 62% to 35% in counties that were   more than 60% Latino , according to the Associated Press, compared with 53% to 46% statewide. Those counties’ Republican primary voters supported Sen. John Cornyn over Paxton 44% to 39%. They later backed Paxton in the lower-turnout May runoff.

Robert Cantu, chairman of the GOP in Hidalgo County, Texas, said he feels good about Republican prospects in November but expects a close Senate race. Talarico is likable but vulnerable from past comments about gender and religion that are likely to turn off socially conservative voters, Cantu said.

Cornelio Garza was one of the Rio Grande Valley voters who helped push the region red, saying he voted for Trump in part because he didn’t think then-Vice President   Kamala Harris   was tough enough to be president. Garza would vote for Trump again, he said, and has appreciated his approach to deportations.  

But Garza recently met Talarico at an event and was impressed with his message, especially regarding support for schools, he said. This year he plans to vote for Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and the Democrats Talarico and Rep. Henry Cuellar.

“Talarico was down here in the valley, and I liked what he offered,” Garza said.