Talarico steps off Texas Senate campaign trail after flu diagnosis

Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico stepped off the campaign trail following a flu diagnosis as his GOP opponent, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, launches new attack ads focusing on the Democrat’s absence.

Talarico disclosed his illness at a U.S. Hispanic Business Council forum which he joined virtually, saying, “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 continued that he was diagnosed with the flu and was at his “most contagious” during the event on Sept. 30.

“I guess I’ve been shaking too many hands on the campaign trail and so I want to keep everybody safe,” he said. “If I was passing on this illness to somebody and got someone’s grandmother or someone’s baby sick, I…couldn’t live with myself, so I thought the best thing to do was to put safety first and put everyone’s health first.”

In response, Paxton launched attack ads against the Democrat for his absence on the campaign trail.

Talarico’s last in-person public appearance was at a fundraising event on Sept. 28 with actor Robert de Niro in New York, according to one attack ad.

“Have you seen this man? His name is James Talarico,” a voice reads. “James Talarico has been missing for 11 days.”

Talarico’s campaign did not respond immediately to The Hill’s request for comment on the attack ads.

Talarico is slated to appear at a CNN and Jubilee Media Town Hall on Oct. 14 in Texas.

Paxton, who won his primary race against incumbent Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), is now trailing Talarico by 3 percentage points ahead of the November general election, according to Decision Desk HQ’s polling averages on Wednesday afternoon.

Texas is generally a red state though a tough midterm environment and Paxton’s previous controversies – including an unsuccessful 2023 impeachment on corruption charges – has created an opening for Talarico.

The Texas Attorney General is also facing backlash for leaked audios where he said the war in Iran and high prices at home are a drag on his midterm campaign.

“It’s not tariffs. … It’s the war, it’s gas prices, it’s diesel,” Paxton told donors and lobbyists at a closed-door fundraiser, according to audio shared by Axios , when asked what issues were “dragging” on his campaign.