Donald Trump says James Talarico "has been missing for 12 days" after illness statement

Texas Democratic hopeful James Talarico, who is running for the state Senate, was out of the public eye for roughly nine to twelve days in late September, prompting criticism from Republican leaders. President Donald Trump posted on his social‑media platform that the candidate had vanished and only later announced he was dealing with an illness. Talarico’s team countered that he participated in a virtual meeting with the U.S. Hispanic Business Council on September 30 and that his absence was closer to nine days; they also noted he was later seen in Austin attending the ACL music festival while meeting voters. Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton described the period as unusual and called for a debate, while Talarico has not yet responded to the request.