President Trump and Republican Ken Paxton tore into Democrat James Talarico’s week-plus absence from the campaign trail, casting doubt on his flu excuse with just 26 days left until the midterms.
With the Texas Senate race tightening and Election Day closing in, Democratic candidate James Talarico has stayed off the trail for more than a week while battling the flu. President Donald Trump and Republican rival Ken Paxton used a San Antonio rally to hammer that absence and question the explanation.
ABC News reported that Talarico’s last public event was September 26. He shifted one appearance to virtual on September 30 and canceled other stops. His campaign says he will be “back on the trail soon,” but has not set a date for in-person events to resume.
Late September polling from the New York Times/Siena University and Fox News showed the candidates locked in a tight race. That backdrop makes every day on the trail count. Voters already saw Talarico walking back earlier progressive stances as the contest heated up, including when he admitted he “missed the mark” on gender, theology, and taxes.
Trump and Paxton appeared together at a campaign rally in San Antonio on October 7. Paxton spoke first and zeroed in on the missing Democrat.
Paxton asked the crowd, “Where do you think they hid that little socialist?” He then led a call-and-response: “Where is James Talarico?”
Trump followed with his own jab at the flu story and old comments Talarico made about cutting meat consumption. Republicans have long mocked those 2022 remarks and labeled him a vegan, though he is not one.
"I hear the guy has disappeared -- nobody knows. You know where he is? He's sick because he's forced to eat meat for political reasons and he's throwing up all over the place,"
Trump also pressed Talarico to “immediately report to a Debate Stage against Ken Paxton.” The demand lands amid a running dispute over debates. Talarico has challenged Paxton repeatedly, including on Fox News. He earlier accepted a CNN debate that Paxton declined. A Paxton adviser said over the summer that Paxton “of course” planned to debate, yet no firm commitments have followed. ABC News asked the Paxton campaign about debate plans and received no clear answer in the reporting.
Endorsement fights have already framed trust as a central issue in this race. Hall of Fame Cowboy Randy White backed Paxton and said Talarico cannot be trusted, underscoring how personal credibility now sits beside policy.
The next day Trump went further on social media. He branded the candidate “TalaFREAKo” and treated the flu claim as thin cover for a longer disappearance.
"TalaFREAKo has been missing for 12 days! Now, after looking for him throughout all of Texas, and beyond, probably even weirder places than anyone would think possible, he put out a statement that he has the "flu." 12 days is a long time to rid yourself of the so-called flu bug. What's going on?"
Trump’s count of 12 days outpaces the “more than a week” described in the reporting. Either way, the calendar is unforgiving. Twenty-six days remained until the midterms when the story landed. A candidate who is not shaking hands, working rooms, and answering questions cedes ground in a close statewide fight.
Talarico has also drawn left-wing pressure that pulls him further from the center. Streamer Hasan Piker vowed to squeeze him leftward if he wins, a reminder that progressive activists see the race as unfinished business rather than a finished moderate pivot.
On the September 30 virtual appearance, Talarico described feeling worse and seeking care in Dallas. He tied the decision to cancel in-person stops to protecting others.
"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,"
He added that he wanted to keep people safe and could not live with himself if he passed the illness to someone’s grandmother or baby. He has spoken openly about living with Type 1 diabetes. His campaign has promised a return soon but has not said when in-person events restart. A CNN town hall is still listed for the following Wednesday, and nothing in the reporting indicated he planned to skip it.
Education fights have already defined parts of Talarico’s record with conservative voters. He previously claimed Texas schools weren’t built for students of color and put feelings ahead of basics, comments that still trail him as the race enters its final stretch.
The absence matters because the numbers are close. Late September surveys from both the New York Times/Siena University and Fox News found the candidates essentially even. One recent snapshot even had Talarico edging Paxton by four points, though older voters broke hard for the Republican. In a contest that tight, disappearing from the trail hands the opponent free days to define the choice.
Paxton has stayed visible and used the stage to keep Talarico on defense. Trump’s rally appearance and next-day post amplified the same theme: a candidate who is not present cannot fully answer for his record or face his opponent. Debate logistics remain unsettled. Talarico keeps issuing challenges. Paxton has declined at least one high-profile offer and has not locked in others.
Campaigns get sick. Schedules slip. Voters still judge what happens when the calendar gets short. Talarico says health and safety came first. Trump and Paxton say the explanation does not add up and the missing time is the real story. With early voting and Election Day approaching, the Democrat will have to reappear, restart the grind, and close the gap he allowed to open. Texas voters will decide whether the flu week was a necessary pause or a costly vanishing act.
In a race this close, showing up is the first job. Everything else is commentary.
