I’M BACK!
James Talarico reemerged this weekend at Austin City Limits.
Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico mocked MAGA conspiracy theorists Friday when he attended a popular music festival after almost two weeks off the campaign trail due to the flu.
The 37-year-old Texas nominee’s absence had been questioned by his opponent, Republican candidate Ken Paxton, 63, as well as President Donald Trump and other high-profile members of the administration who suggested that the disappearance was a cover-up.
Talarico spokesperson JT Ennis called out the rumors in a post on X, alongside a video of the candidate greeting supporters on the grounds of Austin City Limits: “Hate to disappoint the conspiracy theorists, but James is still alive and meeting with voters at ACL today.”
The superstar Democratic candidate is currently neck-and-neck against scandal-ridden Trump pick Paxton, with only nine days before early voting opens in the midterm elections. A Talarico win would mark the first time Texas has turned blue in a statewide race in more than 30 years.
Talarico first mentioned his illness as part of a virtual appearance at the Hispanic Business Council on Sept. 30, which he had been due to attend in-person, before he said his health had led him to visit an urgent care the night before. He hadn’t made any public appearances from then until yesterday, with one Texas Democrat affiliated with the race admitting: “He’s like, really sick. Believe me, we don’t want this right now… We would rather have him on the trail.”
Since then, Paxton has repeatedly requested that Talarico’s team provide “proof of life” and shared images of “MISSING” posters on X.
Trump also questioned Talarico’s disappearance, posting on Truth Social that “12 days is a long time to rid yourself of the so-called flu bug. What’s going on?” Trump also suggested on Wednesday that Talarico may be ill because he is a vegan, which is false, and is forcing himself to eat meat for political reasons.
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Top Trump adviser Stephen Miller also weighed in by posting on Friday: “Whatever the real story is must be quite terrible” in response to a news story about Talarico’s illness.
Rumors have also swirled online suggesting that Talarico may have been suffering a mental health crisis, a theory that the Paxton team have jumped on: “Low-T Jimmy appears to be having a full-blown mental Tala-freak-out on the national stage,” Paxton campaign spokesperson Madison Cercy said in a statement Thursday. “If James Talarico is too fragile to face Texans, he has no business asking for their vote.”
Talarico confirmed that he had been at home with “a nasty case of the flu,” in an interview with The New York Times on Friday. He also suffers from Type 1 diabetes, which can prolong common illnesses, The Texas Tribune reported.
Talarico’s absence opened a window for the Paxton campaign, as the two are now tied at 45 percent of votes each, according to a UMass Lowell/YouGov poll released on Oct. 8. Talarico had been leading most polls in September and October.
Paxton’s campaign has been repeatedly weighed down by scandals, including accusations of corruption, bribery and obstruction of justice.
The Daily Beast has reached out to the Talarico campaign for comment.
