Talarico’s 12-day absence from trail becomes fodder for GOP in Texas Senate race塔拉里科缺席选战12天，成为共和党在德克萨斯州参议员竞选中的攻击目标。
James Talarico has been absent from the campaign trail over the past 12 days as the Texas Senate race enters a critical stretch, prompting Republicans to open a new line of attack on Democratic nominee.
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James Talarico has been absent from the campaign trail over the past 12 days as the Texas Senate race enters a critical stretch, prompting Republicans to open a new line of attack on the Democratic nominee.
At a campaign rally in San Antonio Wednesday, Texas attorney general and GOP Senate nominee Ken Paxton led the crowd in a chant about his opponent’s whereabouts.
“Where is James Talarico?” Paxton prompted the crowd to ask.
Paxton’s campaign has also drawn attention to the topic in social media posts in recent days, and President Donald Trump has jumped into the debate on Truth Social, describing Talarico as “MISSING IN ACTION.”
Talarico’s campaign said the Texas Democrat is recovering from the flu.
“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,” said JT Ennis, a spokesperson for Talarico’s campaign , on Thursday. “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.”
Talarico revealed his flu diagnosis September 30 when he spoke virtually with the United States Hispanic Business Council, an event he was supposed to attend in person.
“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, and I was diagnosed with the flu,” Talarico told the crowd gathered in Edinburg, Texas, over video conference. “I’m running a fever, and I’m at my most contagious right now, and I guess I’ve been shaking too many hands on the campaign trail and so I want to keep everybody safe.”
Talarico’s last public appearance in Texas took place on September 26 when he held a press conference on suspending the federal gas and diesel tax and ending the war with Iran.
“This is the kind of immediate action we need to provide Texans some relief at the pump in the middle of this affordability crisis,” Talarico said at a gas station in Carrollton, Texas.
Talarico reportedly was scheduled to attend a fundraiser in New York City featuring actor Robert De Niro two days later.
During this time stretch, Paxton has made several campaign trail stops, including speaking at Trump’s rally in San Antonio on Wednesday. Paxton has spoken at four other campaign events, including a conversation with the USHBC, and was on hand at the president’s event in Denton. At that stop, Trump said he didn’t even know Paxton was there and jokingly called him a “pain in the ass.”
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In a Truth Social post Wednesday night, Trump questioned Talarico’s whereabouts and called for a debate between the two Senate candidates.
“He should immediately report to a Debate Stage against Ken Paxton, who is ready, willing, and able,” Trump wrote.
The Paxton campaign did not respond to a request for comment about Trump’s proposed debate between the two candidates. Talarico has challenged Paxton to several debates, including one on Fox News, but the window for debates is narrowing with Election Day less than four weeks away.
Talarico will appear at a town hall hosted by CNN and Jubilee Media on Wednesday, October 14 in Fort Worth, Texas. The media outlets have also extended a town hall invitation to Paxton.
The two candidates are locked in a tight battle for the US Senate seat currently occupied by GOP Sen. John Cornyn, who Paxton defeated in a bruising Republican primary in May.
A recent New York Times/Siena University poll showed Talarico with a six-point lead over Paxton.
The close nature of the race in a state Trump won by double digits in 2024 is causing anxiety for Republicans, who are flooding the Texas airwaves in the final stretch. GOP ad spending in the state from September to November currently stands at more than $190 million compared to $52 million reserved by Democrats during the same time period.
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在过去的 12 天里，詹姆斯·塔拉里科一直缺席竞选活动，而此时德克萨斯州参议员竞选正进入关键阶段，这促使共和党人对民主党候选人展开新的攻击。
周三在圣安东尼奥举行的一次竞选集会上，德克萨斯州总检察长兼共和党参议员候选人肯·帕克斯顿带领人群高喊他的对手的下落。
“詹姆斯·塔拉里科在哪里？”帕克斯顿引导人群问道。
帕克斯顿的竞选团队最近几天也在社交媒体上发布了关于此事的帖子，引起了人们的关注。唐纳德·特朗普总统也在 Truth Social 上加入了这场辩论，称塔拉里科“失踪”。
塔拉里科的竞选团队表示，这位德克萨斯州民主党人正在从流感中康复。
“詹姆斯在举行了100多场公开活动、与数万人握手后，不幸患上了流感，但他将于本周末重返竞选活动，”塔拉里科竞选团队发言人JT·恩尼斯周四表示。“肯·帕克斯顿在整个竞选过程中都无视德州民众，他的优先事项很明确：他不向德州人民负责——他只对他的亿万富翁金主和特殊利益集团负责。”
塔拉里科于 9 月 30 日通过视频连线与美国西班牙裔商业委员会交流时透露自己被诊断出患有流感，而他原本应该亲自出席该活动。
“几天前我就开始感觉有点不舒服，昨晚情况变得很糟糕，所以我去了达拉斯的急诊中心，被诊断为流感，”塔拉里科通过视频会议告诉聚集在德克萨斯州爱丁堡的人群。“我现在发烧了，传染性最强，我想我在竞选过程中握手的人太多了，所以我想确保大家的安全。”
塔拉里科最后一次在德克萨斯州公开露面是在9月26日，当时他举行新闻发布会，宣布暂停征收联邦汽油和柴油税，并结束与伊朗的战争。
“在当前这场经济负担能力危机中，我们需要采取这种立即行动，为德克萨斯州民众在加油站提供一些帮助，”塔拉里科在德克萨斯州卡罗尔顿的一个加油站说道。
据报道，塔拉里科原定于两天后在纽约市参加一场由演员罗伯特·德尼罗出席的筹款活动。
在此期间，帕克斯顿多次参加竞选活动，包括周三在圣安东尼奥举行的特朗普竞选集会上发表讲话。帕克斯顿还出席了其他四场竞选活动，包括与美国家庭商业委员会（USHBC）的对话，并到场参加了总统在丹顿的活动。在那次活动中，特朗普表示他甚至不知道帕克斯顿也在场，并开玩笑地称他为“讨厌鬼”。
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周三晚间，特朗普在 Truth Social 上发帖质疑塔拉里科的下落，并呼吁两位参议院候选人进行辩论。
“他应该立即登上辩论台，与肯·帕克斯顿进行辩论，帕克斯顿已经做好准备，并且愿意且能够与他辩论，”特朗普写道。
帕克斯顿竞选团队没有回应关于特朗普提议安排两位候选人辩论的置评请求。塔拉里科曾多次向帕克斯顿发起辩论挑战，包括在福克斯新闻频道的一场辩论，但距离大选日不到四周，辩论的时间窗口正在迅速缩小。
塔拉里科将于10月14日星期三在德克萨斯州沃斯堡出席由CNN和Jubilee Media联合举办的市政厅会议。这两家媒体也已向帕克斯顿发出市政厅会议的邀请。
这两位候选人正在激烈争夺美国参议院席位，该席位目前由共和党参议员约翰·科宁占据，帕克斯顿在五月份一场激烈的共和党初选中击败了科宁。
最近《纽约时报》/锡耶纳大学的民意调查显示，塔拉里科领先帕克斯顿 6 个百分点。
在特朗普2024年曾以两位数优势获胜的德克萨斯州，此次选情胶着令共和党人感到焦虑，他们正全力以赴地在德州投放广告，力求在最后阶段取得胜利。共和党在9月至11月期间在该州的广告支出已超过1.9亿美元，而民主党同期仅投入5200万美元。