WASHINGTON — The anti-trans campaign is going big in Texas.
A conservative super PAC is kicking off its $10 million midterm ad blitz with a spot depicting Texas Senate Democratic hopeful James Talarico as a doctor performing a sex-change surgery on a little girl.
The brutal 30-second spot starts with a little girl playing in a field, picking petals off a flower before being placed on an operating table, with artificial intelligence-generated footage of a surgical-mask-wearing Talarico staring at her.
“She dreams of growing up, falling in love, becoming a mother,” the narrator says ominously in the ad as the girl counts. “The trans industry preys on confused children. Irreversible puberty blockers. Cross-sex hormones. Sex-change surgeries.”
“This November, stop them before it’s too late.”
American Principles Project PAC, a group that advocates on social conservative issues, developed the ad and has plans to get involved in other battleground contests such as Wisconsin and Georgia.
At the conclusion of the spot, the super PAC urges viewers to “Vote for Ken Paxton on November 3.”
“This AI deepfake ad is flat-out lying: James does not support gender reassignment surgery for minors,” Talarico spokesperson JT Enis told The Post.
“This ad exemplifies the rot at the core of our broken, corrupt politics: Ken Paxton and the billionaires who prop him up are using shameful scare tactics and disgustingly using children as political props to lie about James because they have no solutions,” he went on.
”While billionaire-backed dark money groups spread lies, James will continue bringing Republicans, Democrats, and independents together to take on corruption and lower costs for working people.”
Talarico’s campaign pointed The Post to video of him saying that he opposes sex change surgeries on minors.
The AI Dr. Talarico spot is an in-your-face escalation from anti-transgender messaging has been effective against Democrats in the past.
Swing voters resonated with an ad blitz against then Vice President Kamala Kamala in the 2024 campaign, saying “Kamala is for they/them, President Trump is for you.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom admitted the ad was politically “devastating” for Harris, who went on to lose the White House.
While Texas has historically been a Republican stronghold, Talarico has proven to be remarkably competitive against GOP Senate hopeful Ken Paxton, the state’s attorney general.
Talarico currently touts a 1-percentage-point edge over Paxton in the latest RealClearPolitics polling aggregate. Paxton has faced numerous scandals, such as an indictment on securities fraud charges in 2015, allegations of cheating on his wife, and more.
Three years ago, he was impeached by the GOP-led state legislature on allegations of obstructing justice in the securities fraud case, misappropriating public resources, making false statements against whistleblowers, giving preferential treatment to a donor, and more. The state Senate acquitted him 16–14.
In a bid to boost Paxton, GOP operatives have worked to cast Talarico as woke and out of touch with everyday Texas. Talarico’s past stances on transgenderism have given them ample fodder.
Back in 2021, Talarico suggested that “In my faith, God is non-binary” and indicated that there are six sexes.
During his time in the Texas state legislature, he fought against bills aimed at restricting transgender females from competing in girls’ sports, decrying that push as “mean-spirited,” and opposed legislation requiring that parents be informed by schools if their children were transitioning.
“James Talarico wears Christianity like a skin suit to conceal his radical trans agenda and unwavering devotion to advancing the $4.5 billion Trans Industrial Complex that profits from mutilating children,” American Principles Project President Terry Schilling said about the ad.
“Texas voters need to know his record of voting against bans on irreversible sex changes for minors, while cozying up to surgeons who performed them. Our ad exposes the truth behind the seminary student facade.”
