Ken Paxton calls out James Talarico's 11-day absence at Trump rally, prompting response from campaign

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, the Republican running for U.S. Senate, used a San Antonio appearance with President Donald Trump to raise questions about his Democratic opponent's whereabouts. Speaking Wednesday at Freeman Coliseum, less than a month before the midterm elections, Paxton got the audience chanting a demand to know where James Talarico was and claimed the Democrat had not campaigned in Texas for 11 days, according to Fox News.

Talarico's campaign gave Fox News Digital a different explanation. Spokesperson JT Ennis said the candidate caught the flu after holding more than 100 public events and greeting tens of thousands of people, and that he should be back campaigning this weekend. Ennis also turned the criticism around, accusing Paxton of ignoring Texans throughout the race and of serving billionaire megadonors and special interests instead of voters.

Trump also made Talarico's absence a theme of his remarks while promoting Paxton. Without offering evidence, the president suggested the Democrat fell ill because he ate meat for political reasons, and he ridiculed Talarico's diet. He further attacked Talarico's stances on immigration, public safety and education, and he commended Paxton's tenure as attorney general while urging Texans to back his Senate run.

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