A longtime minister at Democrat U.S. Senate nominee James Talarico’s Austin church was caught on undercover video claiming he is moderating his positions on transgender issues to win the election and will “change his tune back” afterward.
The footage, first reported by The Daily Wire, features Rev. Babs Miller, a minister at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, where Talarico has long attended and preached. The outlet reports that Miller has been part of the church community since the 1990s and was ordained there in 2014.
During the conversation, an undercover journalist brought up Talarico’s previous statement that “God is non-binary” and noted that Talarico had recently walked back the remark.
Miller responded that Talarico was receiving advice she did not believe he should be following.
“I can guarantee you that once he gets elected, he’ll change his tune back to where he was,” said Miller.
When the journalist suggested Talarico had to “kind of play this game,” Miller agreed.
“That’s what his campaign has convinced him of,” said Miller. “Is that the Democratic Party is backing off on their stances on trans and all of this, and so his staff is encouraging him to kind of do the same thing, just for the next 50 weeks, whatever days or whatever it is, days I guess. I think it’s bad advice, personally, but if it helps him win, okay.”
The comments come shortly after Talarico has publicly walked back several of his previous positions and statements on transgender issues.
During a recent interview with Fox News, Talarico said he would “absolutely” support a national ban on gender-mutilation procedures for minors and that he only believed there are two genders, as opposed to the six he once claimed.
However, in 2023, Talarico voted against legislation to ban gender-mutilation procedures on minors and has said that the people he loves the most are “trans children.”
St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church has previously drawn scrutiny during Talarico’s Senate campaign.
Talarico has described the Austin church’s history of progressive activism as influential in shaping his faith and political career.
During a 2023 podcast appearance, Talarico said the church was active in LGBT issues during the 1990s and later housed a mother and son here illegally who he said were facing deportation by federal immigration authorities.
“That was the tradition that I was brought up in,” Talarico said at the time. “It’s what led me to teach public school students on the west side of San Antonio, led me to run an education nonprofit and then led me to run for office.”
The church has also faced scrutiny over sexually explicit and LGBT-themed books available in its library, including “Gender Queer,” “All Boys Aren’t Blue,” and “This Book Is Gay.”
Republican Ken Paxton’s campaign seized on the undercover footage, arguing that Miller’s comments supported its previous accusations that Talarico has changed his positions for political purposes.
“The video should come as no surprise. James Talarico’s pastor just admitted what everyone already knew: He is lying to Texans to get elected, and as soon as he does, he will flip-flop on the positions he has a record of supporting,” Paxton campaign spokeswoman Madison Cercy told Texas Scorecard.
Texas Scorecard also asked Talarico’s campaign whether Miller’s characterization of his campaign strategy was accurate and whether the campaign had a response to the video.
The campaign did not respond before publication.
