# Democrat's quick drag queen answer sparks GOP firestorm

> James Talarico's instant response about his favorite drag performer becomes a viral flashpoint in his Texas Senate race.
- Title: Democrat's quick drag queen answer sparks GOP firestorm
- Summary: James Talarico's instant response about his favorite drag performer becomes a viral flashpoint in his Texas Senate race. A casual comment about drag queens…
- Keywords: james talarico, texas senate race, republican national committee, ken paxton, alyssa edwards, drag queens, 2026 election, campaign controversy, viral video, jd vance, stephen miller, news
- Source: New York Post — https://nypost.com/2026/09/15/us-news/republicans-pile-on-james-talarico-after-he-quickly-names-his-favorite-drag-queen
- Published: 2026-09-16T02:42:43+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: james talarico, texas senate race, republican national committee, ken paxton, alyssa edwards, drag queens, 2026 election, campaign controversy, viral video, jd vance, stephen miller, news
## Democrat quickly names favorite drag queen
James Talarico, a Democratic Senate candidate in Texas, was asked at a campaign event to name his favorite drag queen and instantly answered Alyssa Edwards.

> Oh my gosh, probably Alyssa Edwards.
## Republicans seize on the viral moment
The Republican National Committee shared the clip, which went viral, and the National Republican Senatorial Committee posted it with a 2023 quote of Talarico praising Texas drag queens.
## VP Vance and other GOP figures pile on
Vice President JD Vance shared his famous side-eye meme in response. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, Talarico's opponent, called him too weird and radical for Texas.

> What normal person can name their favorite drag queen this quickly?
## Stephen Miller uses Trump's nickname
White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller called Talarico deeply sick and disturbed, using a derogatory nickname that President Trump has deployed against him.

> Talafreako is a deeply sick and disturbed individual.
## Alyssa Edwards thanks Talarico for support
The drag queen Alyssa Edwards responded by thanking Talarico for recognizing that the arts have a purpose in Texas, citing a Bible verse about judgment.

> Thank you James Talarico for recognizing that the arts have a purpose and a home right here in the Lone Star State.
## Key takeaway

A casual comment about drag queens became a major campaign controversy when Republicans weaponized it to paint Talarico as out of touch with Texas values.