James Talarico, Democratic Senate candidate from Texas, recently addressed his absence from campaign events over nearly two weeks due to the flu in exclusive interviews with the Dallas Morning News and MS Now on Sunday. His Republican opponent, Ken Paxton, has intensified attacks, questioning Talarico's fitness for office and accusing him of avoiding voters and debates. The controversy has drawn attention from President Trump as well, furthering speculation about Talarico’s absence amidst early voting beginning next Monday and the upcoming Nov. 3 midterm elections.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-12,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
James Talarico, the Democratic Senate candidate in Texas, addressed his recent two-week absence from campaign events for the first time during exclusive interviews over the weekend. He was spotted at the Austin City Limits Music Festival on Friday and attended a Kacey Musgrove concert in Dallas on Saturday night before discussing his health issues with reporters. Talarico told the Dallas Morning News that he had been sick with the flu, emphasizing his need to rest due to his Type 1 diabetes condition. Meanwhile, Republican opponent Ken Paxton has seized on this absence to criticize Talarico's record and credibility.
Written for “Talarico Flu Absence Controversy” on 2026-10-12,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it -0.35, but all 3 of its quote(s) are attributed speech - words the article quotes from someone, not the article's own narration, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 73103: attributed speech only · logged 2026-10-12
Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico discussed his recent absence from the campaign trail for the first time in exclusive interviews on Sunday.
asserted
Talarico → discuss → Sunday
The Texas state representative was spotted in public on Friday at the Austin City Limits Music Festival after not campaigning for almost two weeks.
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representative → spot → weeks
He attended the Kacey Musgrove concert in Dallas on Saturday night before addressing speculation about his lengthy disappearance in interviews released on Sunday afternoon.
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He → attend → afternoon
“I was at home sick in bed with the flu,” he told the Dallas Morning News in an exclusive interview with its editorial board, in which he says he’s “running as a moderate” and discusses his views on religion, healthcare, and education.
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he → tell → religion
Talarico, who suffers from Type 1 diabetes, added that he took a break from campaigning to ensure the sickness wasn’t prolonged.
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sickness → suffer → campaigning
“I had the flu.
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I → have → flu
This is the craziest thing I’ve ever heard,” he said separately in an interview with MS Now, referencing widespread speculation that this explanation for his absence wasn’t sound.
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explanation → hear → absence
“It’s wild that someone can just post something on the internet and people just run with it.”
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people → ’ → it
Talarico’s Republican opponent, Texas State Attorney General Ken Paxton, spent much of the latter half of last week arguing that Talarico’s disappearance renders him unfit for office.
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him → spend → office
He started a “Where is James Talarico?” chant at a campaign rally on Wednesday and said on Saturday, “He owes Texans answers.”
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He → start → answers
“James Talarico will not face up to his actual record and tell the people the truth, so I don’t know whether to believe him about the flu or not,” he said on Sunday night in an interview with Fox News.
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he → face → News
“I just know that everything that he says, almost everything that he says, has been false since the beginning of this campaign.”
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he → know → campaign
President Donald Trump also slammed Talarico last week for not interacting with voters this close to the midterm elections.
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Trump → slam → elections
He referenced the controversy at a rally in Tennessee on Saturday night, saying “he has the longest flu ever recorded.”
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he → reference → flu
Talarico holds a slight lead over Paxton, according to public polling, despite Texas’s history as a Republican stronghold.
uncertain
Talarico → hold → stronghold
Paxton also said his campaign has been “working with him on that for months” when asked about the possibility of debating Talarico.
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campaign → say → Talarico
The Democratic candidate referenced the pair’s inability to find a time to debate in a Saturday night social media post largely responding to the online discussion.
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candidate → reference → discussion
“And of course we can never quite work out the details because he always wants something we can’t do,” Paxton continued.
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Paxton → work → something
“So the reality is the big story is the fact that he was missing from the campaign trail, and I know he’d love to change the topic to debates, but the big story is two weeks is a very long time to be away with the flu, and it’s just a very strange time to disappear.”
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it → miss → flu
Early voting in Texas begins next Monday, while the midterm elections will be held on Nov. 3.
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elections → begin → Nov.
Talarico’s last public event was a Sept. 26 press conference, followed by a private fundraiser in New York City on the 28th, according to CNN.
uncertain
event → follow → CNN
He told the United States Hispanic Business Council on the 30th that he had been diagnosed with the flu and had visited an urgent care facility in Dallas.
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he → tell → Dallas
He also told NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth on Sunday his symptoms were “nothing worse than a nasty case of the flu.”
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symptoms → tell → flu
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