UNDER THE WEATHER

Democrats Panic as Star Vanishes From Campaign Trail

The Texas Senate hopeful has been losing precious time ahead of the historic election.

Democratic star James Talarico has taken a nearly two-week hiatus from the campaign trail amid the final push before the midterms, causing Democrats to sound the alarm.

The Texas state representative has been absent from in-person campaign events for 12 days after contracting the flu, giving his scandal-ridden Trump-endorsed opponent, Ken Paxton, ammunition ahead of the crucial election on Nov. 3.

“He’s, like, really sick. Believe me, we don’t want this right now,” a Texas Democrat affiliated with the Talarico race told NBC News. “We’d rather have him on the trail.”

Talarico spokesperson JT Ennis said in a statement on Thursday that the Senate candidate would return to the campaign trail this weekend.

“After holding more than 100 public events and shaking tens of thousands of hands, James came down with the flu but will be back on the trail this weekend,” Ennis said. “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.”

Democratic political strategist Ed Espinoza told NBC News that some supporters were concerned about Talarico’s absence and that he wasn’t getting enough face-time with voters. But Espinoza shrugged it off.

“Look, he’s got, like, $80 million of ads going right now. So I think that’s pretty good scale for him at the moment,” he told the outlet. “He may be recovering at home, but he is still everywhere.”

Kendall Scudder, the state’s Democratic Party chair, admitted Talarico’s hiatus has given Paxton “a little bit of a break.”

“It’s certainly not ideal, but we want to make sure he does everything he needs to to make sure that he’s healthy and ready to go. We’re in the homestretch, and it sounds like he’s on the mend, and that’s great news,” Scudder told NBC News. “He’s a phenomenal candidate, he’s been working really hard for a long time, and everyone gets sick every now and then.”

The Daily Beast has reached out to the Talarico campaign for comment.

Talarico, 37, had first announced his diagnosis during a forum for the Hispanic Business Council on Sept. 30, which he had attended virtually.

“I was ready to eat my favorite quesadilla tacos, but I was starting to feel kind of under the weather a few days ago, and last night it got so bad that I went to the urgent care here in Dallas,” he said on Zoom during the forum. “I guess I’ve been shaking too many hands on the campaign trail, and so I want to keep everybody safe.”

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Paxton, 63, and President Donald Trump, 80, have capitalized on the opportunity.

“You haven’t seen him in a couple of weeks,” Trump told supporters at a Wednesday rally in San Antonio. “I hear the guy has disappeared. Nobody knows. You know where he is? He’s sick, because he’s forced to eat meat for political reasons, and he’s throwing up all over the place.”

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Amid a slew of attack ads shared on social media, Paxton’s campaign called for Talarico to provide “proof of life” and put up fake “MISSING” posters of his Democratic adversary around Texas.

The state rep has been giving Paxton a run for his money, with most recent polls showing him leading the Texas attorney general by single digits, according to The New York Times aggregate.

Talarico has Republicans worried he could turn the state blue and become the state’s first Democratic senator since 1993.

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Vic VerbalaitisNight Breaking News Reporter

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