James Talarico, the Democratic seminary student running for U.S. Senate in Texas, spoke at a 2021 Pride event that billed an 11-year-old boy as "the absolute cutest & youngest of our drag performers", a record his campaign now declines to discuss.
The June 26, 2021, festival in Taylor, Texas, a small, conservative town about 50 miles from Austin, was organized by a local LGBTQ group called Taylor PRIDE. It was held at the Texas Beer Company and featured live music, adult drag acts, a "Youth Drag Show," and a children's story hour. Talarico, then a state representative, was the headlining speaker. The event's promotional Facebook post named him alongside a preteen drag performer who goes by the stage name Kween Kee Kee, the Washington Free Beacon reported.
Kween Kee Kee is the stage name of a local boy named Keegan, who was 11 at the time. Taylor PRIDE's own posts described the child as "this amazing pre-teen" and promoted the fact that Keegan would perform a drag number at the venue and host "Kee Kee Storytime... where children will find lots of PRIDE inspired craft activities." Attendee video posted to Facebook showed the boy, wearing a shimmery blue dress, heavy eye makeup, and a platinum blonde wig, doing the splits as part of his routine.
Adult drag performers Brianna Brinxx, Sedonya Face, Belladonna Dior, and Felecia Enspire also appeared at the event. In a post-event Facebook post, Taylor PRIDE published photos of Kween Kee Kee alongside the adult performers. Felecia Enspire's photo carried the caption "Hot Mama."
Talarico's campaign did not respond to the Free Beacon's requests for comment. That silence fits a pattern. Since winning his Democratic Senate primary in June, Talarico has worked to soften his record, scrubbing his campaign website of references to Republican attempts to "bully trans children" and distancing himself from some of his most progressive public statements.
He called his own testimony at a State House hearing, where he declared "God is nonbinary", "cringey." He posted a photo of himself eating a giant barbecue turkey leg in a Texas flag shirt, a visual pivot from a 2022 clip in which he pledged to make his campaign vegan. The repositioning is not subtle.
But the 2021 Taylor event sits squarely in the public record. Taylor PRIDE's promotional materials listed Talarico by name and office, "State Rep. James Talarico", in the same sentence as Kween Kee Kee. The organizers raised money to support what they called "rural LGBTQ communities." A conservative organization protested the festival at the time, alleging it was "sexually explicit and exploitation of a child." Taylor PRIDE denied the allegation, posting photos of the performers and writing, "You tell us if that rings true."
Talarico's appearance at the festival was consistent with his legislative conduct. He voted against a Republican bill that would have criminalized drag shows when children are present, and he spoke publicly against the measure. In a 2023 interview with the Austin American-Statesman, Talarico defended Texas drag performers directly:
"We produce some of the best drag performers in the nation. We didn't want to hurt them."
That same year, transgender children rallied at the Texas State Capitol in support of a pro-trans bill. Talarico described watching them in a podcast interview, saying, "It was an inspiration to watch." He also used a 2022 sermon at his Austin church to refer to women as "our neighbors with a uterus," language that drew its own share of criticism.
Talarico was first elected to the Texas Legislature in 2018 and became a member of the Texas House LGBTQ+ caucus. His policy positions have leaned consistently to the left on cultural issues, even as he now frames himself as a moderate for a general-election audience.
The Taylor PRIDE event did not end the group's public profile in the community. Months after the June 2021 festival, Taylor PRIDE sponsored a float at Taylor's annual Christmas parade. Felecia Enspire and Sedonya Face, the latter described as a short-haired blonde man with a visible chest tattoo, manned the float. Town residents were angered by the display.
Talarico now faces Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, the Republican nominee, in the general election. His campaign has struggled with key constituencies even within his own party, and events like the Taylor PRIDE festival give Paxton's team ready-made material for a state where parents have pushed back forcefully against children's involvement in adult-oriented performances.
The open questions are straightforward. Did Talarico know before he arrived that an 11-year-old would perform in drag alongside adult performers? Did he watch the routine? Did he object to any part of the programming? His campaign's credibility on questions of judgment and transparency depends on answers it has so far refused to give.
Voters can read a candidate's website or watch a campaign ad. They can also look at where a candidate chose to stand, and who stood next to him. Talarico's record keeps speaking, even when his campaign won't.
A man running for the United States Senate can scrub a website and call his own words "cringey." He cannot unshare a stage.
