Paxton ad featuring Alyssa Edwards draws her response

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s campaign used a video featuring drag performer Alyssa Edwards to criticize Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico, prompting Edwards to respond with an open letter questioning Paxton’s motive and defending her work and ties to Texas. The ad, posted Tuesday, September 22, begins with footage of Talarico naming Edwards as his favorite drag queen. It then shows clips of Edwards performing and working with children, whose faces are blurred in some scenes. Paxton’s caption described Edwards as Talarico’s “sick and twisted” favorite and included a viewer warning. The video ends with the message “James Talarico Too Weird, Too Radical for Texas.” Paxton, the state attorney general and a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, had previously posted about Talarico’s answer. The new ad places Edwards at the center of that criticism, although she is not a candidate in the race. The reports describe the video’s content but provide no evidence about whether it changed voters’ views or affected either campaign’s standing. Edwards, known professionally by that name and born Justin Johnson, published an open letter on Wednesday, September 23.