James Talarico has been absent from the campaign trail for the past 12 days as the Texas Senate race enters a critical phase, prompting Republicans to open a new line of attack against the Democratic candidate.
At a campaign rally in San Antonio on Wednesday, Texas Attorney General and Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton led the crowd in chanting where his opponent was.
“Where is James Talarico?” Paxton encouraged the crowd to ask questions.
Paxton’s campaign has also drawn attention to the topic in social media posts in recent days, and President Donald Trump waded into the debate on Truth Social, calling Talarico “MISSING IN ACTION.”
Talarico’s campaign said the Texas Democrat was recovering from the flu.
“After holding more than 100 public events and shaking tens of thousands of hands, James came down with the flu but will be back on the trail this weekend,” said JT Ennis, a spokesperson for Talarico’s campaign., THURSDAY. “Ken Paxton ignored Texans throughout the campaign, and his priorities are clear: He doesn’t answer to the citizens of this state, he answers to his billionaire megadonors and special interests.”
Talarico revealed his flu diagnosis on September 30 when he spoke virtually with the Hispanic Affairs Council of the United States, an event he was supposed to attend in person.
“I was starting to feel a little bad a few days ago and last night it got so bad that I went to urgent care here in Dallas, and I was diagnosed with the flu,” Talarico told the crowd gathered in Edinburg, Texas, via video conference. “I have a fever and I’m most contagious right now, and I guess I shook too many hands on the campaign trail and so I want to keep everyone safe.”
Talarico’s last public appearance in Texas was on September 26, at a press conference on suspending federal taxes on gasoline and diesel and ending the war with Iran.
“This is the kind of immediate action we need to provide relief to Texans at the pump in the midst of this affordability crisis,” Talarico said at a gas station in Carrollton, Texas.
Talarico was reportedly scheduled to attend a New York fundraiser with actor Robert De Niro two days later.
During that time, Paxton made several campaign stops, including speaking at Trump’s rally in San Antonio on Wednesday. Paxton spoke at four other campaign events, including a conversation with USHBC, and was present at the presidential event in Denton. At that stop, Trump said he didn’t even know Paxton was there and jokingly called him a “pain in the ass.”
In a Truth Social article Wednesday evening, Trump asked about Talarico’s whereabouts and called for a debate between the two Senate candidates.
“He should immediately show up for the debate against Ken Paxton, who is ready, willing and able,” Trump wrote.
The Paxton campaign did not respond to a request for comment on Trump’s proposed debate between the two candidates. Talarico has challenged Paxton in several debates, including one on Fox News, but the window for debates is narrowing with less than four weeks until Election Day.
Talarico will appear at a town hall hosted by CNN and Jubilee Media on Wednesday, October 14 in Fort Worth, Texas. The media also extended an invitation to Paxton Town Hall.
The two candidates are engaged in a tight battle for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Republican Sen. John Cornyn, whom Paxton defeated in a bruising Republican primary in May.
A recent New York Times and University of Siena poll showed Talarico six points ahead of Paxton.
The tight nature of the race in a state won by Trump by double digits in 2024 is causing concern among Republicans, who are flooding the Texas airwaves in the home stretch. The Republican Party’s advertising spending in the state from September to November currently stands at more than $190 million, compared to the $52 million reserved by Democrats during the same period.
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