Texas state Rep. James Talarico, the Democratic nominee in the Senate race in Texas, appeared to walk back comments he'd made that his opponent, Republican state Attorney General Ken Paxton, is using against him in the pivotal race. 

During a 2021 floor debate in the state legislature, Talarico declared that "God is non-binary." Paxton's campaign has highlighted that and other statements Talarico has made on transgender rights. 

In an interview on ABC News Live, Talarico said that Paxton is "clipping my past cringey comments" as part of an effort to draw attention away from what Talarico called Paxton's "career of corruption." 

The Democrat said that the remark was "meant to be deliberately provocative," and he said he believes that "you can't use human categories to define God."