Trump and Paxton Question Democrat Talarico's Extended Absence from Campaign Trail

President Donald Trump and Texas Republican Senate nominee Ken Paxton are raising questions about Democratic challenger James Talarico's whereabouts, as the candidate has been absent from in-person campaign events for nearly two weeks. Trump referred to Talarico as "MISSING IN ACTION" on his social media platform Truth Social, while Paxton questioned his opponent's absence at a campaign rally.

Talarico, who is challenging Paxton in the Texas Senate race, has not appeared at an in-person campaign event since late September, citing a case of the flu. The prolonged absence has prompted attacks from Republicans.

"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 Wednesday. "What’s going on? We need a Senator that’s a proven Champion like one that has been, without question, the Greatest Attorney General in the History of Texas, and one of the Greatest in the U.S.A."

Paxton similarly questioned his opponent's absence at a rally, asking supporters, "Where is James Talarico?"

Talarico's absence comes during the final stretch of the Texas Senate race, with Election Day less than a month away. The Democrat's last publicly documented in-person campaign event in Texas was Sept. 26. He subsequently attended a private fundraiser in New York and participated virtually in a Sept. 30 business forum. During the forum, Talarico stated he had been diagnosed with the flu at a Dallas urgent care facility the previous evening. Talarico has Type 1 diabetes, a condition that puts him at greater risk of serious flu complications, according to the CDC.

His campaign has stated that Talarico expects to return to in-person campaigning this weekend, ahead of a publicly scheduled CNN town hall on Oct. 14. The campaign also highlighted "more than 100 public events" Talarico has already participated in.

"I guess I've been shaking too many hands on the campaign trail, and so I want to keep everybody safe," Talarico explained, adding that he did not want to risk spreading the illness to vulnerable individuals.

"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.

Leaked messages from a private Slack channel reportedly showed members of Talarico's volunteer network discussing his prolonged absence, with one expressing concern that he could lose momentum. "I think it’ll be fine. It’s [j]ust conservatives blasting him. I’m just worried about him losing momentum," a Talarico campaign volunteer wrote in a group chat, according to The Post. "But I 100% expect him to make a comeback at the CNN [t]own hall that’s a given."

Another volunteer reportedly wrote, "It’s a buncha people that don’t actually want him to be out touring that are causing a stink. Noone’s genuinely upset."

Veteran Texas-based Democratic strategist Ed Espinoza told Fox News Digital, "I would much rather have my candidate rested and have any ailments out of the way now than down the stretch, because if they’re sick two weeks before the election, they’re still going to be on the road which means it’s only going to get worse. So let them heal up and get their strength back." Espinoza added, "Even though Talarico’s off the trail, he’s still on the airwaves," referring to the campaign’s advertising spending.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Talarico campaign for additional information on his recovery and return to the campaign trail but had not received a response by the time of publication.