James Talarico, the Texas Democratic nominee for Senate, on Sunday dismissed GOP conspiracy theories about his flu-induced absence from the campaign trail and sought to turn the tables.
“I had the flu,” he said in an exclusive interview with MS NOW. “This is the craziest thing I’ve ever heard. It’s wild that someone can just post something on the internet and then the media just runs with it.”
He dismissed the brouhaha as “silly season in our politics” and issued a fresh challenge to his GOP rival, Ken Paxton, who spent the better part of 10 days fueling wild speculation about Talarico’s whereabouts while the Democrat recovered from his illness.
“He asked for proof of life from me. I’m asking proof of spine from him,” Talarico told MS NOW, referring to his repeated invitations to Paxton to debate him publicly in a race that is stunningly tight in deep-red Texas.
“I’ve heard credible reports that Ken Paxton has a serious medical condition that causes clinical level of cowardice,” Talarico joked during his first nationally televised interview since returning to the campaign trail.
Paxton, the scandal-plagued Texas attorney general backed by President Donald Trump, and other Republicans had been posting faux “missing” and “wanted” posters online, demanding “proof of life” from Talarico’s camp. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, piled on by posting a milk carton featuring the face of a “missing” Talarico.
When pressed on why his campaign had not more forcefully addressed the attacks on him in a high-stakes race so close to Election Day, Talarico pointed a finger at journalists and social media. “Sorry to disappoint our conspiracy theorists online, but our social media and traditional media system really just rewards rumor and innuendo because it’s what gets clicks,” Talarico told MS NOW.
On Sept. 30, Talarico shared that he visited a Dallas urgent care clinic. His last live campaign appearance before getting sick was at a fundraiser in New York City on Sept. 28 with actor Robert De Niro.
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Rosa Flores is a national reporter for MS NOW.
Erum Salam is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW, with a focus on how global events and foreign policy shape U.S. politics. She previously was a breaking news reporter for The Guardian.