President Trump and Ken Paxton are pressing Democratic rival James Talarico over a nearly two-week campaign absence he blames on the flu as some volunteers worry about momentum.
At a Wednesday campaign rally in San Antonio, Texas Attorney General and Republican Senate nominee Ken Paxton put the question directly to the crowd: “Where is James Talarico?”
President Donald Trump joined the scrutiny the same day, calling the Democrat “MISSING IN ACTION” and questioning how a flu diagnosis could keep a Senate candidate off the trail for so long with Election Day less than a month away. Fox News Digital reported the exchange and the growing chatter around Talarico’s prolonged stretch away from in-person events.
Talarico, the Democrat challenging Paxton for the U.S. Senate seat, has not appeared at a publicly documented in-person campaign stop in Texas since a Sept. 26 news conference in Carrollton on gasoline prices and the war in Iran. He later attended a private fundraiser in New York and joined a Sept. 30 business forum only by video after saying he received a flu diagnosis the evening before at a Dallas urgent care facility.
The candidate has Type 1 diabetes. His team has pointed to CDC guidance that the condition raises the risk of serious flu complications, and Talarico said he wanted to avoid spreading illness after “shaking too many hands on the campaign trail.”
Paxton’s question landed as the race draws national money and attention. Trump has already signaled the stakes with major backing for the Republican, including the kind of early investment detailed in coverage of Trump’s $10 million boost to Paxton’s bid.
On Truth Social that Wednesday, Trump sharpened the point and tied it to the choice facing Texas voters.
Trump wrote:
"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? We need a Senator that’s a proven Champion like one that has been, without question, the Greatest Attorney General in the History of Texas, and one of the Greatest in the U.S.A."
The president’s post framed the absence as more than a sick day. It cast doubt on the explanation itself and elevated Paxton as the contrast.
Talarico’s campaign says the candidate has already held more than 100 public events and expects to return to in-person campaigning “this weekend” ahead of a scheduled CNN town hall on Oct. 14. Fox News Digital asked the campaign where he is recovering and exactly when he will reappear. There was no response by the time of publication.
Talarico himself offered a straightforward health explanation.
He said:
"I guess I've been shaking too many hands on the campaign trail, and so I want to keep everybody safe."
That answer has not stopped Republican pressure. Conservative radio host Ben Ferguson took the issue to “The Will Cain Show” on Thursday and focused on transparency and donor expectations in a race Democrats have described as competitive.
Ferguson asked:
"If it's as tight as they claim it is, and he's got a lead the way they claim that he is, and you're a billionaire writing these big checks right now to Talarico, wouldn't you want an ROI, like a return on your investment? Why have we not gotten transparency from his campaign? What is really going on? Why did a guy disappear after doing an interview where he didn't look like he had the flu?"
Those questions land in a contest already drawing heavy outside spending. Super PAC money and national conservative groups have poured resources into defending Paxton and targeting his opponent, including the eight-figure efforts tracked in reports on the Senate Leadership Fund ad blitz and related independent expenditures.
While Talarico stayed off the physical trail, the New York Post reported Thursday on leaked messages from a Slack channel serving nearly 4,000 people in his volunteer network. Some supporters waved off the Republican attacks. Others worried the silence could cost ground.
One volunteer wrote that the noise was “just conservatives blasting him” and added, “I’m just worried about him losing momentum,” while expressing confidence he would rebound at the CNN town hall. Another argued that “a buncha people that don’t actually want him to be out touring” were the ones “causing a stink” and that “no one’s genuinely upset.”
The internal tension sits against a backdrop of aggressive Republican organizing and donor muscle, including the late infusion described in accounts of how MAGA Inc. poured $10 million into the Texas Senate fight to back Paxton and hit Talarico.
Talarico campaign spokesperson JT Ennis answered the Republican focus with an attack on Paxton’s own priorities and donors.
Ennis told Fox News Digital:
"Ken Paxton has been ignoring Texans this entire campaign, and his priorities are clear: he doesn’t answer to the people of this state, he answers to his billionaire megadonors and special interests."
Veteran Texas Democratic strategist Ed Espinoza struck a different note, arguing that clearing an illness now is smarter than risking a late collapse on the road.
Espinoza said:
"I would much rather have my candidate rested and have any ailments out of the way now than down the stretch, because if they’re sick two weeks before the election, they’re still going to be on the road which means it’s only going to get worse. So let them heal up and get their strength back."
He added that Talarico remains “on the airwaves” and “has plenty of money to get his message out” even while skipping in-person stops. GOP leaders, meanwhile, have kept pressing for party discipline behind Paxton, a theme that surfaced when Ted Cruz demanded unity around the attorney general’s Senate bid.
The Democrat’s record is already under separate scrutiny on policing and public safety after earlier statements resurfaced, a fight examined in reporting on how Talarico denied a defund-the-police stance once the 2020 comments returned to the surface.
For now the calendar is unforgiving. A candidate who cites the flu still owes voters a visible presence when the race is this close to Election Day and the other side is holding rallies, posting in real time, and asking the simplest question in politics: where are you?
Texas voters get to judge whether a multi-week disappearing act is prudent health management or a luxury a Senate hopeful cannot afford. Showing up remains the clearest proof of seriousness.
