During a recent episode of the Go Behind the Ballot podcast, Texas Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico explained that the work of transgender activist Ash Hall helps him stay focused when the campaign feels overwhelming.
"The Capitol is not a safe place for a lot of marginalized people," Talarico said. "That is part of what keeps me going when I am discouraged or upset. I look at people like Ash Hall and I think, if Ash can do this much harder work than I am doing, then I have to keep going."
Hall, who graduated from the University of Texas at Austin two years after Talarico, identifies as nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns. Their LinkedIn profile lists a current role with the American Civil Liberties Union, and they received the Monica Roberts Trans Activist of the Year Award last year.
In the same interview, Talarico praised Hall as "one of the best organizers at the Capitol," noting Hall's focus on trans youth and broader transgender rights in Texas. The endorsement comes as Talarico seeks to present a more moderate image on gender‑related issues while contending with Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, who leads the race in a state that has voted Republican in every statewide contest since 1994.
Talarico's political résumé includes three terms in the Texas House of Representatives, beginning in 2018. During that time he supported legislation that expanded protections for transgender students and opposed bills that would restrict bathroom access or ban gender‑affirming care for minors. Those positions have drawn criticism from conservatives and have become focal points in the current Senate campaign.
Hall's activism has placed them at the center of several high‑profile battles in the Texas legislature. In 2017 they testified against a bill that would have barred men from using women's restrooms, arguing that such restrictions would not reduce sexual violence. Although that measure failed, a narrower version targeting government‑owned facilities, including public schools and universities, passed in 2022. Hall called the law "unconscionable" and warned it would encourage "gender policing."
Two years later Hall led the opposition to a bill requiring youth athletes to compete on teams that match the sex listed on their birth certificate. Hall spent more than ten hours testifying and shared a social‑media post showing a transgender child who "cried over transphobia" during the hearing. After the bill's passage, Hall claimed the debate increased calls to suicide hotlines and put the lives of trans youth in danger.
In 2023 Hall fought a measure that would prohibit doctors from providing gender‑affirming treatments to anyone under 18. The Texas Supreme Court upheld the ban in 2024, a decision Hall described as "needlessly cruel" and an example of the state's "obsession with attacking trans kids and their families." Hall also condemned a 2024 law that defines biological sex solely by reproductive anatomy, saying it threatens to erase legal protections for trans, nonbinary and intersex Texans.
Hall's professional background includes work for Texas state Democrats and the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund, a Washington, D.C.‑based organization that supports openly LGBTQ elected officials. In 2022 Hall served as school‑board organizing director for the progressive Texas Blue Action Democrats, a role that involved defending school‑board members from "conservative concerned parents" Hall described as "very racist and transphobic." Hall's social‑media activity during that period featured endorsements of progressive school‑board candidates and calls for "safe, inclusive schools where teachers can teach the truth."
The alliance between Talarico and Hall highlights a broader clash in Texas politics. Over the past decade the Republican‑controlled legislature has passed a series of bills targeting transgender people, including bans on gender‑affirming care for minors now in effect in a majority of states. A 2023 Supreme Court decision rejected a challenge to those bans, leaving the restrictions in place.
Public opinion on these issues is shifting. A Pew Research Center poll conducted last year found that 66 percent of Americans support policies requiring athletes to compete on teams that correspond with their sex, while 56 percent favor bans on gender‑transition surgeries for minors. However, the same poll showed 49 percent support bathroom policies that align with biological sex, indicating a nation still divided on the specifics of transgender rights.
In Texas, the political calculus is different. The state's electorate has consistently favored conservative candidates, and recent ballot measures restricting transgender rights have passed with comfortable margins. Nevertheless, Democrats argue that the intensity of the cultural fight could mobilize younger and more progressive voters, a demographic that Talarico hopes to attract.
Talarico's campaign has faced scrutiny for past statements that some view as extreme. In 2021 he said God is "nonbinary," claimed there are six sexes, and said his favorite group, aside from his family, is trans kids. He later said he "missed the mark" with those remarks and accused Republicans of cherry‑picking his most "cringey" comments. In June, Talarico asserted he opposes gender‑transition surgeries for minors, a position that appears at odds with his earlier vote against a bill that would have banned such procedures.
The tension between Talarico's past rhetoric and his current positioning reflects a broader strategic dilemma for Democrats in red states. While progressive activists like Hall push for expansive protections, candidates often temper their language to avoid alienating moderate voters. The outcome of the Senate race could signal how far a Democratic candidate can move on transgender issues without jeopardizing electoral viability in a deeply Republican environment.
Both Talarico's campaign and Hall declined to comment for this story. Their statements, however, illustrate the personal and political stakes that define Texas's ongoing cultural battles and the ways in which individual activists can shape the narratives of high‑profile campaigns.