CNN host and legal analyst Laura Coates fought to get her panel under control when one guest dropped a stray penile reference during a discussion of the Texas Senate race.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s (R-TX) primary victory over Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) on Tuesday night sets up a much closer race with State Rep. James Talarico (D-TX) than many Republicans foresaw.

On Tuesday night’s edition of CNN’s Laura Coates Live, Coates discussed the race with a panel that included Scott Jennings, Chuck Rocha, Ashley Etienne, and Shermichael Singleton.

Things went off the rails when Rocha, addressing criticism of Talarico’s views on biological sexes — often mischaracterized as a belief in “six genders” — said the race won’t be decided on “who’s got a pee-pee and who don’t”:

LAURA COATES: A lot to chew over here in Texas. Scott, is Texas going to be a problem for Republicans in November given this slate?

SCOTT JENNINGS: Well, there’s going to be a race. Both parties are going to spend money. Both candidates are going to carry some baggage into the campaign. My view is Texas is a right of center state that handed Donald Trump a double-digit victory in 2024. It would be a surprise to me if they would want to send a Democrat to the Senate to oppose that agenda.

Toss on top of that, Talarico is one of the most radical, out of the mainstream Democrats you could have possibly conjured for a Senate race in Texas. And I think the race is still likely or lean Republican tonight. But look, they got to — they got to run the race.

COATES: Hold on. Chuck is already laughing at the most radical.

(LAUGHTER)

Is that hyperbole that you can relate to at all?

CHUCK ROCHA: Look, I’m going to say that Ken Paxton is the most flawed, corrupt, divorce, biblical. All these things are what this campaign will most be about when Scott Jennings and me are on this TV. But to the voters of Texas, it’s going to be whether you care more about pronouns or gas prices, if you care more about what the price of your utility bill is or what gender you are.

Right now, in Texas, I’ve been polling all over Texas not just for Talarico, but when you go to somebody’s house and ask them, what your biggest concern is, normally, how they’re going to make ends meet, not about like who’s got a pee-pee and who don’t.

COATES: So, he wants this race.

(LAUGHTER)

I’ll let that go for a second.

ROCHA: Thank you.

COATES: But he wants that race, right? Talarico —

JENNINGS: You just going to let that go?

COATES: I’m letting the pee-pee go right now.

(LAUGHTER)

Yes, I am. At 11:07 maybe the pee-pee comes back. But right not, I’m going to someplace else.

JENNINGS: We’ll get back to the pee-pee. OK.

COATES: We’ll come back to the pee-pee. Jesus Christ!

ASHLEY ETIENNE: Please. I’m a lady, boys. I’m a lady. Settle down.

COATES: Ashley, OK, the non-pee-pees over here.

Watch above via CNN’s Laura Coates Live.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!