James Talarico back on the trail after an absence with the flu drew scrutiny

After drawing scrutiny for his absence from the campaign trail, Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico, who had been sick with the flu, returned to the stump in Texas on Friday.

“James Talarico is back on the campaign trail talking to voters at Austin City Limits,” Talarico campaign spokesman JT Ennis said in a statement.

Social media posts showed Talarico walking on the grounds of the festival on Friday.

Talarico revealed on Sept. 30 that he was sick, when he had to appear virtually instead of in person at a forum. His prolonged absence drew daily scrutiny from his opponent, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

Paxton’s campaign asked for “proof of life” and called on Talarico to produce a photo of himself and a newspaper with a current date. Republican Sen. Ted Cruz poked fun on social media, featuring a milk carton with Talarico’s face with the word “MISSING.”

Talarico’s last in-person event in the state was on Sept. 26. He visited New York on Sept. 29 for a private fundraiser and, according to his virtual remarks to the Hispanic Business Council the following day, he returned to Dallas and visited urgent care.

Then, Talarico appeared visibly ill, blowing his nose and coughing through the event.

“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 said at the time. “I’m running a fever, and I’m 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.”

His absence from the trail in the crunch time of the election prompted some consternation among Democrats.

“Believe me, we don’t want this right now,” a Texas Democrat involved in the Talarico race said. “We’d rather have him on the trail.”