Breaking
President Donald Trump headlined a get-out-the-vote rally at San Antonio’s Freeman Coliseum on Wednesday, Oct. 7, to boost Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in his U.S. Senate race against Democrat James Talarico. Breitbart Texas reported the venue was nearly at capacity, with thousands more still waiting in line outside. Trump made the stakes plain. “I’ll never forgive Texas if Talarico wins,” he told the cheering crowd. Paxton then turned the spotlight on his opponent’s absence from the campaign trail, asking the crowd, “Where is James Talarico?” and leading a chant that quickly spread online.
Trump kept up the pressure on Truth Social, calling Talarico “MISSING IN ACTION.” “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,” Trump wrote. “What’s going on?” The attacks have now forced Talarico’s campaign to answer questions about when its candidate will be back in front of Texas voters.
Details & Background
According to CNN, Talarico’s last publicly documented in-person campaign event in Texas was a Sept. 26 news conference in Carrollton on gas prices and the war with Iran. He later attended a private fundraiser in New York and joined a Sept. 30 business forum virtually, where he said he had been diagnosed with the flu at a Dallas urgent care facility the night before. Talarico has Type 1 diabetes, which the CDC says raises the risk of serious flu complications. His campaign says he expects to return to in-person campaigning this weekend, ahead of a CNN town hall scheduled for Oct. 14, and notes that he has already held more than 100 public events.
The absence comes at a critical point in one of the most closely watched Senate races in the country. Talarico has led in recent polling, including a New York Times-Siena survey showing him ahead 51% to 45%, while other polls show a near tie. Nearly $175 million in outside money has poured into the race to keep the seat in Republican hands. Texas Democrats have not won a U.S. Senate race since 1988 and have not won any statewide race since 1994, and Trump carried Texas by 14 points in 2024. Early voting runs Oct. 19 through Oct. 30, with Election Day on Nov. 3.
Reactions
Talarico has described his absence as a precaution. “I guess I’ve been shaking too many hands on the campaign trail, and so I want to keep everybody safe,” he said. His campaign went on offense when asked about the Republican attacks. “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,” campaign spokesperson JT Ennis told Fox News Digital.
Inside Talarico’s own camp, the mood appears less settled. The New York Post reported that leaked messages from a private Slack channel of nearly 4,000 volunteers showed members discussing his absence. “I’m just worried about him losing momentum,” one volunteer wrote, while adding that they expected a comeback at the CNN town hall. Democratic strategist Ed Espinoza told Fox News Digital that resting now beats getting sick closer to Election Day, noting, “Even though Talarico’s off the trail, he’s still on the airwaves.” Conservative radio host Ben Ferguson pressed the transparency issue on “The Will Cain Show,” asking, “Why have we not gotten transparency from his campaign?”
Why This Matters to You
This race could help decide who controls the U.S. Senate, and with it whether President Trump’s agenda on the border, the economy and federal judges keeps moving through Congress. At the rally, Trump warned that if Democrats regain power, “they will open your borders and let the entire world pour in like they did before.” For Texas, which has carried much of the burden of illegal immigration, that warning is not abstract. A state that has not elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1988 is now genuinely in play.
Voters also deserve to see the candidates asking for their votes. Talarico’s campaign says he is recovering and will be back this weekend, and illness is a legitimate reason to step away. But nearly two weeks without a public in-person event, in the final month of a Senate race, invites fair questions about transparency and readiness. With early voting starting Oct. 19, Texans have only days left to weigh who will truly show up for them in Washington, and their answer will be felt far beyond the Lone Star State.
