Talarico's Influencer Army Expresses Concern Over Candidate's Campaign Trail Absence

Leaked Slack messages indicate that a group of social media influencers supporting Texas Senate hopeful James Talarico have privately expressed concern over his extended absence from the campaign trail. Talarico, who has type 1 diabetes, has not had an in-person public campaign event since September 26, a period of 12 days.

While Talarico attended a private fundraiser in New York City on September 28 and a virtual Hispanic Business Council forum on September 30, his public campaign appearances have been notably absent. In a Slack channel with nearly 4,000 members, some influencers voiced unease about maintaining campaign momentum.

"I think it’ll be fine. It’s [j]ust conservatives blasting him. I’m just worried about him losing momentum," one influencer, Alex Balderas, wrote in the chat. "But I 100% expect him to make a comeback at the CNN [t]own hall that’s a given."

Critics, including allies of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, have questioned the duration of Talarico's absence. Former President Donald Trump used his Truth Social platform to comment on Talarico's situation, questioning the severity of the "flu" that has kept him out of public view for so long.

"TalaFREAKo has been missing for 12 days!" Trump posted on Thursday. "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. What’s going on?"

Some of Talarico's allies also suggested the campaign should provide more health updates. Balderas noted in the Slack chat, "James is diabetic that’s why it’s taking awhile for recovery so basically conservatives and Paxton are being. very immoral [sic]."

Another campaign volunteer, Jacob Weber, dismissed the concerns as manufactured by those who do not genuinely support Talarico's campaign. "It’s a buncha people that don’t actually want him to be out touring that are causing a stink. Noone’s genuinely upset," Weber wrote. Balderas agreed, stating, "Yeah it’s the conservatives they’re making it a big deal over two canceled events because he’s sick. But he’ll be back."

Talarico is scheduled to participate in a CNN town hall on October 14. His campaign has stated that he will return to the campaign trail this weekend. A spokesperson for Talarico, JT Ennis, told The Post, "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."

The spokesperson also criticized Ken Paxton, saying, "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."

Despite Texas being a predominantly Republican state, Talarico has maintained a close race against Paxton, with polling aggregations showing a narrow lead. Paxton himself has publicly called for a "proof of life" from Talarico, and Trump has also made critical remarks about the candidate's absence.