Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico stepped off the campaign trail after receiving a flu diagnosis, prompting his Republican opponent, Attorney General Ken Paxton, to launch a series of attack ads targeting his absence.
Talarico revealed his illness while joining a U.S. Hispanic Business Council forum virtually, explaining that his symptoms had worsened sharply the night before the September 30 event.
“I was ready to eat my favorite quesadilla tacos, but I was starting to feel kind of under the weather a few days ago, and last night it got so bad that I went to the urgent care here in Dallas,” Talarico told the forum attendees.
He acknowledged that he was at his “most contagious” during the virtual appearance and attributed the illness to extensive handshaking throughout his campaign.
“I guess I’ve been shaking too many hands on the campaign trail and so I want to keep everybody safe,” he said, adding that infecting a vulnerable person was something he “couldn’t live with myself” over.
Paxton’s campaign wasted little time responding, releasing attack ads questioning Talarico’s whereabouts and highlighting his absence from Texas during the campaign stretch.
One ad noted that Talarico’s last in-person public appearance had been a fundraising event in New York on September 28 with actor Robert De Niro, framing his time away as a political liability.
“Have you seen this man? His name is James Talarico,” a voice in the ad reads. “James Talarico has been missing for 11 days.”
Campaign spokesperson J.T. Ennis pushed back against the criticism, telling The Hill that Talarico “held more than 100 public events and met with tens of thousands of supporters” before falling ill, and would return to the trail soon.
At least two events were canceled during Talarico’s absence, including an Austin fundraiser and an event focused on turning out Black voters in Central Texas, with no confirmed return date announced by the campaign.
A Paxton spokesperson escalated the rhetoric, saying that “Paxton is out working for Texans every day while Talarico hides behind recycled rally footage and canceled events.”
Talarico is scheduled to headline a CNN town hall on October 14, which the campaign may lean on to reassert his visibility ahead of the election.
The political back-and-forth over Talarico’s absence has, however, been largely overshadowed by leaked audio from one of Paxton’s own fundraisers, in which Paxton was heard complaining about President Donald Trump’s war with Iran, high fuel prices, and the “horrible” economy.
