Republican U.S. Senate candidate Ken Paxton is ramping up attacks with less than six weeks to go before the General Election.
Paxton's campaign released a new digital ad Tuesday, Sept. 22, entitled "Meet Alyssa Edwards." The ad comes after a video showed Democrat James Talarico, Paxton's General Election foe, naming Edwards as his favorite Texas drag queen.
Paxton's camp accuses Edwards, also known as Justin Johnson, when not performing, of "not only provocatively dancing in front of children, but also teaching and encouraging young children to dance in the same manner."
However, Edwards has used his fame as a way to raise money for a number of charitable causes, including the Greg Dollgener Memorial AIDS Fund (GDMAF) and Design Industries Foundation
Fighting AIDS (DIFFA). Edwards also hosted Camp TAZO, a three-day camping trip tied to Project Sanctuary, which offers therapeutic retreats for military families.
“James Talarico’s twisted friends aren’t just too radical for Texas; they’re too dangerous to be allowed within 100 feet of a school,” Paxton campaign spokeswoman Madison Cercy said. “The excitement in James Talarico’s voice to exclaim that ‘Alyssa Edwards’ is his favorite drag queen is utterly disqualifying. James Talarico should immediately apologize to Texas families and condemn Justin Johnson for his extremely inappropriate conduct in front of our children.”
The ad shows various clips of Edwards performing and purports to show the performer's "history of engaging in inappropriate behavior in front of children and indoctrinating them into his bizarre, twisted world of 'drag queens.'"
Talarico's campaign has so far not responded to the new ad.
Adam Powell covers government and politics for the El Paso Times and can be reached via email at apowell@elpasotimes.com.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Talarico praise for drag queen fuels Paxton Texas US Senate race attack
