James Talarico resurfaces after extended absence as his campaign pushes back

Texas Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico returned to public view on a Friday at the Austin City Limits Music Festival, putting an end to nearly two weeks in which his whereabouts were a topic of Republican attacks. His spokesperson, JT Ennis, posted video of the candidate working the crowd and joked about disappointing conspiracy theorists, according to Fox News.

Talarico is running against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, and polling-watchers consider the contest tight. His previous in-person appearance was a September 26 news conference in Carrollton about gasoline costs. His campaign said a bad case of the flu kept him away. President Donald Trump seized on the silence on Truth Social, branding the Democrat "MISSING IN ACTION" and questioning why a flu would last 12 days. Trump then promoted Paxton as the better choice for Texas.

The campaign disputed the length of the gap. It said Talarico joined a September 30 video call with the U.S. Hispanic Business Council after calling off a live event, so by its count he was out of sight for about nine days rather than nearly two weeks.

Summarized by PolitiKool from Fox News’s reporting. Read the full story at Fox News →