Now that Republicans have nominated former Texas State Attorney General Ken Paxton over primary opponent John Cornyn for Texas Senator, they’ve set their sights on his opponent, Democrat James Talarico. Talarico has become something of a rising star amongst Democrats, with Democrats portraying him as a clean cut, outspoken Christian moderate with chances of taking a Senate seat in the very red state of Texas. Republicans are now focusing on Talarico’s past comments about there being six biological sexes, praising his “meat-free” campaign, and controversial takes on Christian doctrine to show that he’s anything but the moderate that Democrats claim he is.

Christian conservatives have homed in on recent comments Talarico made during an hours-long interview on the “Jamie Kern Lima Show.” Lima discussed abortion with Talarico, who has studied theology at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, which is affiliated with the mainline Presbyterian Church (USA). Talarico insisted that he trusts women “to make decisions about their own bodies.”  “I don’t believe that’s a place for government. I don’t believe it’s a place for politicians. I don’t believe it’s a place for the state. And that’s a belief I hold not despite my faith, but because of my faith,” he added.

Talarico, who often cites his faith, insisted the Bible is “silent” on the issue of abortion. “Jesus never talks about abortion. The Bible is silent on abortion. And when that happens with a social issue as important as abortion, we Christians have to take Scripture as a whole. And we’ve got to try to make some kind of ethical determination,” he said. Texas has some of the strictest abortion restrictions in the country, with a heartbeat law that prohibits abortion even in the case of rape and incest, which has earned the ire of many progressives.

Talarico’s comment is not the first time he has addressed abortion and his faith. In an interview with Joe Rogan last July, Talarico insisted the Bible is pro-choice by citing the angel Gabriel’s announcement to the virgin Mary that she was to be with child. He cited Mary’s response to Gabriel’s announcement, “let it be to me according to your word,” as proof of Mary offering her consent. “To me, that is an affirmation in one of our most central stories that creation has to be done with consent. You cannot force someone to create,” Talarico told Rogan.

Claiming the Bible is silent on abortion quickly earned Talarico strong rebukes from Christian conservatives, including Franklin Graham. “Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico couldn’t be more wrong! The Bible is not silent on abortion as he claims — that’s an absolute lie. God commands us, ‘You shall not murder’ (Exodus 20:13). Abortion is taking a life — it is murder,” he wrote on X. He went on to cite James 1:5 which states, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart.” He also cited past comments Talarico had made calling God “non-binary.” “Don’t be deceived by wicked politicians spouting lies like this,” he said.

Talarico has begun to back off from some of his more liberal positions, admitting he has made some “cringey” comments in the past. “There are some statements that I’ve made that I certainly regret,” he admitted. “There are statements that I’ve made where I’ve missed the mark. I’ll be the first to admit that. But Ken Paxton is intentionally clipping my cringey comments to distract from his career of corruption.” He seemed to also back off past assertions he made that science supports six biological sexes, something that has earned him the nickname “Six-gender Jimmy” from opponent Paxton. “I know there are two sexes, men and women. I also know there’s a very small percentage of people who have these chromosomal abnormalities, and I believe they deserve to be treated with dignity and respect,” he said.

Conservatives, however, are urging Texans to not fall for Talarico’s rebranding. Conservative Benny Johnson cited a list of some of Talarico’s controversial statements, including calling Jesus a “radical feminist,” stating illegal aliens are more patriotic than Americans, and that he loves thinking about trans kids. “Now he’s trying to convince Texas he’s a moderate,” warned Johnson. “His own words say otherwise. When the devil tells you he’s evil, you best believe him.”