At a campaign event, Texas Democratic Senate hopeful James Talarico quickly named Alyssa Edwards as his favorite drag queen when asked by an attendee. Alyssa Edwards is the stage name of Justin Dwayne Lee Johnson, who has been involved in performing with young dancers and has described himself as "a drag performer that works with children." This exchange comes amid criticism over Talarico's past comments on gender issues, including his endorsement of Texas having "some of the best drag queens in the nation" and his statement that "God is nonbinary."
Written by the local model on 2026-09-14,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
During a campaign event, Texas Democratic Senate hopeful James Talarico was asked by a supporter to identify his favorite drag queen in Texas. Without hesitation, Talarico named Alyssa Edwards, who has previously stated that he "works with children." This exchange follows recent controversy over Talarico's past comments on gender and sexuality issues, including his 2023 praise for Texas having "some of the best drag queens in the nation" and a previous event where an 11-year-old boy performed in drag. The incident is being used as part of the ongoing line of attack against Talarico by his opponents in the Senate race.
Written for “Texas Drag Queen Controversy” on 2026-09-14,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it -0.35, but 1 quote(s) could not be found in the article and the other 1 are attributed speech rather than the article's own narration, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 9232: no verified evidence · logged 2026-09-14
Texas Democratic Senate hopeful James Talarico instantly named Alyssa Edwards when asked at a campaign event to identify his favorite drag queen in the state — pointing to someone who has publicly described himself as "a drag performer that works with children."
asserted
that → name → children
Talarico’s past comments on sexuality and gender issues have become a line of attack in the Senate race, including his remark that "God is nonbinary" and his 2023 praise for Texas having "some of the best drag queens in the nation."
"Mr. Talarico, so nice to meet you...
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Texas → become → you
I was there when you defended the drags," video shows a man telling the Democratic nominee as he approached to take a photo together at the event.
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he → defend → event
"Who’s your favorite drag queen in Texas?" the man asks in the video.
asserted
man → ’ → video
Without a pause, Talarico responds: "Oh, my gosh.
asserted
Talarico → respond → pause
The exchange comes after the Washington Free Beacon reported on a 2021 event Talarico headlined called "Taylor PRIDE" in Taylor, Texas, where an 11-year-old boy performed in drag under the name Kween Kee Kee.
asserted
boy → come → name
In the more recent exchange, Talarico's instant response naming Edwards referred to Justin Dwayne Lee Johnson, whose stage name is Alyssa Edwards.
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name → name → Johnson
"I remember being at World Pride in New York a few years back and sharing the stage with my dance students, one of the most powerful moments of my life," Johnson said in an interview with Out magazine.
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Johnson → remember → magazine
Johnson’s work with young dancers was also featured in the 2018 Netflix docuseries "Dancing Queen."
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work → feature → docuseries
The Dallas Observer reported that Johnson called one 10-year-old male student his "mini-me," and that the child dressed as Alyssa Edwards during an episode of the series.
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child → report → series
When asked about the encounter, a spokesperson for Talarico instead appeared to turn the criticism toward the Republican opponent:
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spokesperson → ask → opponent
"James’ favorite performer is Ken Paxton — who dresses up as attorney general while giving sweetheart deals to child sex predators," Talarico campaign spokesperson JT Ennis told Fox News Digital.
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Ennis → dress → Digital
Fox News Digital also reached out to Johnson’s representation for comment.
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Digital → reach → comment
Asked separately by Fox News last week about his controversial comments on gender and related issues, Talarico said he "missed the mark on some of my past statements.
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he → ask → statements
He said then that he no longer believes there are six sexes, and that people are bringing up that kind of commentary because they do not want to talk about "six dollar diesel" with Republicans in the majority.
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they → say → majority
Fox News' Brooke Taylor contributed to this report.
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Taylor → contribute → report
