James Talarico has been off the Texas campaign trail for 12 days, and where is Talarico now comes down to a flu diagnosis that kept him away from in-person events in Texas. His campaign says he should be back in action this weekend.
On Sept. 30, Talarico told a virtual audience at the Hispanic Business Council event that he had gone to urgent care in Dallas after feeling under the weather and was diagnosed with the flu. He said he was running a fever and wanted to keep everybody safe because he was his most contagious right now.
Dallas to San Antonio
Talarico’s last in-person event in Texas was on Sept. 26. He then went to New York on Sept. 29 for a private fundraiser before returning to Dallas, where he said he visited urgent care the next day.
His campaign said he has held more than 100 public events and shaken tens of thousands of hands. JT Ennis, his spokesman, said Talarico “will be back on the trail this weekend.”
Ken Paxton’s opening
The absence has given Ken Paxton a line of attack as the race enters its final stretch. Madison Cercy, a Paxton campaign spokeswoman, said, “We have a simple request: proof of life.” She added, “James Talarico wants to represent 31 million Texans in the U.S. Senate, but for 12 days, he’s hidden from every one of them.”
She also said, “There’s a reason they call it ‘Texas Tough,’ and it’s not because Texans hide at the first sign of trouble.” Cercy added, “If James Talarico is too fragile to face Texans, he has no business asking for their vote.” A Texas Democrat involved in the race said, “He’s, like, really sick. Believe me, we don’t want this right now.”
Texas Senate seat race
Ed Espinoza said Talarico still has “$80 million of ads going right now,” and added, “He may be recovering at home, but he is still everywhere.” Kendall Scudder said Paxton “caught a little bit of a break” with Talarico’s absence.
For Talarico, the immediate issue is whether he can turn that return into visible in-person time fast enough to match the pace of the race. For voters, the answer to where is Talarico should change this weekend if his campaign’s timeline holds.
