Texas Senate candidate James Talarico says flu kept him off the trail as Paxton and Trump seize on his absence
Select a version of the text written from a presumed ideological perspective. This is not the original text, but a hypothetical version — how someone with that viewpoint might have phrased it. Tapping the current version again will return to the original or select cleaned version.
Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico said an influenza diagnosis briefly pulled him away from campaign events, but he kept working from home while Republican rival Ken Paxton amplified the moment with attacks and performative outrage.
Texas Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico said he missed several days of campaigning because he was recovering from the flu, not because of any mystery or misconduct. The state representative, who is contesting Attorney General Ken Paxton for the Senate seat, told MS NOW that he worked from home and held meetings with his team via Zoom while he was sick. He returned to public events over the weekend, speaking to attendees at the Austin City Limits music festival on Friday and attending a Kacey Musgraves concert in Dallas on Saturday.
Paxton and his campaign eagerly turned Talarico’s temporary absence into a talking point, with the GOP Senate nominee leading a chant of “Where is James Talarico?” at a rally in San Antonio and posting on social media that the Democrat was “nowhere to be seen.” President Donald Trump also jumped into the pile-on on Truth Social, describing Talarico as “MISSING IN ACTION.”
Talarico told NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth that he was diagnosed with the flu on September 30 after feeling unwell during a virtual appearance at the United States Hispanic Business Council. He visited urgent care in Dallas and stayed home to recover. His last in-person campaign appearances before the illness were a press conference on September 26 and a private fundraiser in New York City on September 28.
In an interview with MS NOW, Talarico called the speculation “silly season in our politics” and redirected attention to Paxton, who has not agreed to a debate. Paxton responded on Fox News, saying he was uncertain about Talarico’s flu claim and insisting that the candidate has been “false” throughout the campaign.
Talarico’s return to the trail comes before a town hall scheduled for Wednesday evening in Fort Worth, Texas, hosted by CNN and Jubilee Media and moderated by Erin Burnett. The event has also invited Paxton to participate.