Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico has stepped off the campaign trail after being diagnosed with the flu.
His last public appearance was Sept. 28 in New York, where he attended a fundraiser hosted by actor Robert De Niro. Talarico, a state representative from Austin, faces Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton.
“I guess I’ve been shaking too many hands on the campaign trail, and so I want to keep everybody safe,” Talarico said at the Hispanic Business Council event. “The best thing to do was to put safety first and put everyone’s health first.”
Talarico’s campaign on Tuesday acknowledged the break in events. It comes less than two weeks before early voting starts Oct. 19, in advance of the Nov. 3 election.
“After holding more than 100 public events and meeting with tens of thousands of supporters, James came down with the flu but will be back on the trail soon,” Talarico spokesperson JT Ennis said in a statement to The Dallas Morning News.
At least two events have been scrapped, an Austin fundraiser Tuesday and a Monday event aimed at turning out Black voters in Central Texas.
Ennis said Talarico has kept a busier schedule than Paxton, who drew attention this summer for taking a European vacation around the July Fourth holiday.
“Ken Paxton has spent this campaign hiding from everyone — running away from reporters and ducking repeated offers to debate James Talarico, even on FOX News,” Ennis said.
Some Republicans have also criticized Paxton for not campaigning more aggressively. His former primary rival, Sen. John Cornyn, called him a “poor campaigner” and “lazy” in August. Paxton rejected the criticism, saying he was averaging about 18 hours a day campaigning, traveling the state and raising money.
Paxton campaign spokeswoman Madison Cercy accused Talarico of neglecting Texas voters, saying he had time to attend a New York fundraiser but “can’t find time for Texans.”
“Paxton is out working for Texans every day…while Talarico hides behind recycled rally footage and canceled events,” she said.
Ennis did not say when Talarico would return to active campaigning. Talarico is scheduled to headline a CNN town hall Oct. 14.