James Talarico absent from Texas Senate campaign, questioned by Ken Paxton

Who's involved

• James TalaricoTexas State Representative, Democratic U.S. Senate nominee
• Ken PaxtonTexas Attorney General, Republican U.S. Senate candidate
• President Donald TrumpSupporter of Paxton, called for debate
• JT EnnisSpokesperson for Talarico's campaign
• Rick ScarboroughFormer Southern Baptist pastor, faith advocacy figure
• Angela PaxtonState Senator, Ken Paxton's estranged wife
• Pastor Daniel HayworthKen Paxton's son-in-law, pastor at Vintage Church

The facts

• Talarico made no in-person campaign appearances for 9-12 days after September 26.^{1 4 5} Stated by 3 sources
• Talarico's last in-person public appearance was September 26 when he spoke on gas prices.¹
• Talarico attended a private fundraiser headlined by Robert De Niro in New York on September 28.¹
• Talarico participated in a virtual Hispanic Business Council forum on September 30.¹
• Talarico has challenged Paxton to debate 85 days prior to October 11.⁴
• Paxton has not accepted any debate invitations from Talarico, according to Talarico's campaign.⁴
• CNN and Jubilee Media town hall scheduled for October 14 in Fort Worth; both candidates were invited.⁴

Who said what

These are statements and claims made by the people involved. They are reported, not verified.

• Talarico's campaign Candidate contracted flu after completing over 100 public events.¹
• Talarico He had a nasty case of the flu, was in bed, drinking fluids, working from home, not hospitalized.⁵
• President Trump Talarico is missing in action and should debate Paxton.^{4 5}
• Ken Paxton Demanded proof of life on social media, questioned if influenza alone could account for absence.¹
• JT Ennis, Talarico campaign spokesperson Paxton ignores Texans and answers to special interests and billionaire megadonors.¹
• Rick Scarborough, former Southern Baptist pastor Paxton departed from religion's tenets and should address scandals directly.^{2 3}