Women’s sports advocate Riley Gaines endorsed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in his U.S. Senate race against Democratic state Rep. James Talarico, pointing to the candidates’ sharply different records on transgender athletes and medical treatments for minors.
“Texas needs a senator who will fight without apology for women, for kids, and for the health of every American family,” Gaines said in a statement. “Ken Paxton is that leader, and I am proud to support and endorse him.”
Gaines, a former University of Kentucky swimmer, became a prominent advocate for preserving female-only athletic divisions after tying transgender swimmer Lia Thomas in the 200-yard freestyle at the 2022 NCAA championships.
She praised Paxton as a “relentless fighter for the protection of children” and highlighted his legal action against the NCAA.
“He has taken decisive action against those who would expose our children to irreversible harm and refused to be silent while the radical left was putting the next generation in danger,” Gaines said. “He even filed a major lawsuit against the NCAA to keep men out of women’s sports.”
Paxton sued the NCAA in December 2024, accusing the organization of violating the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act by marketing competitions as women’s events while allowing transgender athletes to participate. The lawsuit sought to prevent transgender athletes from competing in NCAA women’s events involving Texas teams or taking place in the state. The NCAA later changed its policy in February 2025 to restrict women’s competition to athletes who were female at birth.
Paxton has also filed lawsuits against doctors he accused of violating a Texas law prohibiting certain transition-related treatments for minors.
Gaines contrasted Paxton’s record with that of Talarico, who opposed legislation requiring Texas public-school athletes to compete on teams corresponding with their biological sex.
“His opponent, James Talarico, is a far-left extremist who has refused to accept biological reality,” Gaines said. “He has repeatedly put women’s safety, privacy, and opportunities in danger by championing a radical agenda that forces biological males into girls’ and women’s sports, locker rooms, and private spaces.”
During debate over a school sports bill in 2021, Talarico argued that biological sex could be “a spectrum” and invoked his Christian faith while defending transgender children. He later said he still believes transgender people deserve “dignity and equality,” although he would express some of his earlier comments differently today. The Texas Tribune reported that Talarico opposed the legislation that ultimately became Texas’ school sports law.
Talarico has separately said he opposes gender-reassignment surgery for minors. His campaign has argued that Republican attacks distort his position and ignore his objections to the broader scope of Texas’ treatment restrictions. PolitiFact reported in June that advertisements depicting Talarico as supporting such surgeries were inaccurate.
Paxton defeated longtime Sen. John Cornyn in the Republican runoff in May. Talarico defeated Rep. Jasmine Crockett in the Democratic primary. The two will face each other in the Nov. 3 general election, which has emerged as one of the country’s most competitive Senate contests.
