Talarico supporters not sweating dust up over his absence from campaign trail
Washington Examiner · RC · trust 31/100
SAN MARCOS, Texas — Supporters of Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico are not flustered by the lack of transparency surrounding his more than weeklong absence from the campaign trail, saying questions about the candidate’s whereabouts are GOP conspiracy theories.
The Washington Examiner interviewed attendees on Thursday at a Talarico rally in San Marcos, Texas, where each echoed a similar sentiment: he had the flu.
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“I immediately discounted it,” said John Abrams, 58.
“The guy says he has the flu, it’s probably the flu,” Abrams continued. “He’s a diabetic, so when you get sick with anything as a diabetic, it takes a lot longer to get back to normal.”
In fact, many rally-goers said they were not Democrats but liked Talarico’s demeanor. At Texas State University, students packed the CFPO Fields in San Marcos, where, for many, it was their first political event.
College students interviewed by the Washington Examiner viewed the online right-wing conspiracies as a way to distract Talarico from his matchup against Attorney General Ken Paxton .
“It’s honestly a scapegoat because what I’ve noticed with this race is that, in terms of the Republicans, they are not trying to debate policy at all, and that’s all that I’m here for,” siad Daniel Riley, 21.
“It shows how little confidence the Republicans have in their own candidate that they gotta chalk up all of this hullabaloo without, you know, kind of just standing on this is what Ken Paxton has to offer,” said John Villanueva, 29, a student at Texas State. “They don’t got that, so that’s a bunch of hogwash, just a bunch of people making up bologna.”
Talarico faced fierce criticism and mockery after stepping away from the campaign trail following a Sept. 30 virtual call with the Hispanic Business Council, during which he disclosed that he had been diagnosed with the flu.
Paxton also took to social media to jab Talarico about his prolonged absence, while his campaign called for “proof of life.”
At the same time, conservative activists spread rumors last week that Talarico was struggling with his mental health and had secretly retreated to an Ohio hospital. The hospital in question denied that Talarico had ever been treated there. Talarico responded on social media that he’d never been to Ohio in his life.
The Texas Democrat addressed the situation Wednesday night at CNN’s town hall, where he said staying home was the “responsible” decision, promptly responding “no” when asked whether he would have done anything differently.
“I mean, these false claims got millions of views online, and this is an example of what I call the rage economy,” Talarico said. “Conspiracy theorists can post anything they want on the internet. They get clicks.”
“The billionaires who own these platforms get rich,” Talarico continued. “We all get angry, and nobody’s life gets any better. Conspiracy theories don’t put food on the table.”
He remains locked in a tight race with Paxton just days before early voting begins on Monday, with most polls showing the Democrat holding a slight edge within the margin of error.
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