Talarico 'regrets' past comments — what the 'cringy' comments were

• Texas Democratic U.S. Senate nominee James Talarico expressed regret for some of his past comments.
• Talarico admitted a remark calling God "nonbinary" was intentionally provocative.
• He will face Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in the November General Election.
• Talarico accused Paxton of using his comments to distract from a "career of corruption."

Texas Democratic U.S. Senate nominee James Talarico admitted that he regrets comments that he's made in the past.

Talarico sat down with CBS News' Ed O'Keefe for an interview released on YouTube on May 28, days after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton defeated Sen. John Cornyn in the Texas runoff election — meaning Talarico and Paxton will go head-to-head in the General Election.

During the interview, O’Keefe asked Talarico about a past remark that sparked backlash, where he referred to God as “nonbinary.”

"Well, I think I was being intentionally provocative with that statement," Talarico responded, "but what it means is that God can't be defined by human categories."

Talarico was further pressed about the comment, to which he responded, "There are some statements that I've made that I certainly regret. There are statements that Ive made where Ive missed the mark, I'll be the first to admit that."

Talarico also added that Paxton was taking his comments out of context.

"Ken Paxton is intentionally clipping my cringy comments to distract from his career of corruption," Talarico said. "Ken Paxton has a criminal record, I have a legislative record."

Talarico previously called Paxton "the most corrupt politician in America” in a political ad that aired a few minutes after Paxton's victory over Cornyn on May 25.

"Three years ago, Ken Paxton was impeached by his own party for using his public office to enrich himself and his donors — at the expense of the People," Talarico said in his ad. "That kind of corruption is the rot at the core of this broken system. It’s why we can’t afford anything. It’s why we can’t get ahead no matter how hard we work."

Paxton, on the other hand, called Talarico the "most well-funded, radical Democrat in America" in an X post after winning the runoff.

Watch the Talarico interview with CBS News below:

Natassia Paloma may be reached at [email protected], @NatassiaPaloma on x; natassia_paloma on Instagram, and Natassia Paloma Thompson on Facebook.