Texas – Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton criticized Democratic U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico after his return to public appearances at the Austin City Limits Music Festival, accusing his opponent of skipping campaign events while meeting with wealthy donors and attending a celebrity-filled music festival.
“James Talarico skipped out on the Hispanic business leaders, canceled on the Central Texas African American Civic Engagement Symposium, and tried to pass off old content as new,” Paxton said.
“He doesn’t get to reappear like nothing happened after ghosting the 31 million Texans he wants to represent for two weeks,” the Republican candidate added.
Paxton also questioned Talarico’s explanation that he had been absent because of the flu, pointing to his reported meetings with wealthy supporters and his appearance at the Austin City Limits Music Festival in Austin.
“The ‘flu’ didn’t stop him from meeting with New York billionaires and Hollywood elites, or from partying with celebrities at a music festival most working Texans don’t have the luxury of attending, especially after taking two weeks off work,” Paxton wrote. “Must be nice after two weeks of PTO.”
The comments came after Talarico returned to public view Friday, October 9, with an appearance at the Austin City Limits festival at Zilker Park, where he was seen greeting attendees and meeting potential voters.
According to The Texas Tribune, Talarico’s appearance was his first public outing since September 30, when he participated virtually in an event hosted by the U.S. Hispanic Business Council. His campaign had said he was diagnosed with the flu after visiting an urgent care clinic in Dallas and had stepped away from in-person campaign activities while recovering.
Talarico had been scheduled to attend the Central Texas African American Civic Engagement Symposium but canceled the appearance. His virtual participation in the Hispanic business council event came after he had initially been expected to attend in person.
The Miami Herald reported that Talarico’s last scheduled in-person event before his illness-related absence was a September 28 fundraiser in New York with actor Robert De Niro. The fundraiser and his later appearance at the Austin music festival became central points in Republican criticism of his time away from public campaigning.
The dispute escalated earlier in the week when President Donald Trump and Paxton publicly questioned Talarico’s whereabouts during a rally in San Antonio on October 7. Paxton led the crowd in a chant asking, “Where is James Talarico?” while Trump later described the Democratic candidate as “MISSING IN ACTION” in a Truth Social post.
Trump also called on Talarico to debate Paxton, describing the attorney general as “ready, willing, and able.” Talarico responded on X on October 8, agreeing with the president’s call and telling his Republican opponent, “Ball’s in your court.”
Talarico’s campaign has maintained that his absence was due to illness. Speaking virtually at the September 30 Hispanic business council event, Talarico said he had developed flu symptoms and had been diagnosed after visiting urgent care. He explained that he did not want to risk spreading the illness to people he encountered during campaign events.
“I guess I’ve been shaking too many hands on the campaign trail, and so I want to keep everybody safe,” Talarico said during the virtual appearance, according to The Texas Tribune.
CBS Texas reported that Talarico was seen at Austin City Limits on October 9, where he spoke with potential voters, shook hands and posed for photographs. His campaign said he planned to resume campaigning over the weekend.
The renewed criticism comes as the candidates continue to clash over debates and their respective campaign schedules ahead of the November 3 election. Talarico has accepted multiple debate invitations and repeatedly challenged Paxton to appear with him, while Paxton has not agreed to a debate with his Democratic opponent.
The competing accusations have kept the candidates’ campaign activities and public appearances in the spotlight, with Paxton questioning Talarico’s absence and Talarico continuing to press for a debate before Texans vote.
