Texas Senate Dem Nominee Missing From Campaign Trail for Weeks
James Talarico, the Democratic nominee seeking the U.S. Senate seat held by retiring Republican John Cornyn, has not appeared on the campaign trail for weeks, according to the account provided. His last reported public campaign event was virtual and took place Sept. 30. The campaign has not publicly updated voters on his whereabouts, the account says.
Former Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt posted an unverified claim about Talarico on X Friday. Pratt did not identify his sources, and the claim has not been independently confirmed.
“My sources are telling me Talarico is in a mental health facility. His campaign has stopped actively planning events in the vital homestretch of the campaign,” Spencer wrote.
Pratt urged caution and empathy while criticizing the campaign’s advisers.
“If this is true, this is actually a time to pray for Talarico. We should, of course, savagely mock his smug, awful campaign advisors, by all means…and while yes, of course, this would be disqualifying for Talarico’s aspirations to be a Texas Senator, we must hold empathy for anyone undergoing crisis,” Pratt continued.
“Campaigns are brutal, and not everybody is cut out for it. You need very thick skin. As much as I don’t want Talarico anywhere near government, I also don’t want wish him harm, and no political office is worth having a breakdown,” he wrote.
“His awful advisors are at fault for this. They pushed him to be something he isn’t, and it didn’t work,” he noted further.
Pratt concluded: “I’m praying that this isn’t true, and he’s OK. You want to win these fights on the battlefield of ideas, not the minefield of poor health.”
Talarico is running against Republican nominee Ken Paxton, Texas’s attorney general, whom President Donald Trump endorsed over Cornyn.
Republican Groups Pour Money Into Texas
The uncertainty around Talarico’s campaign comes as Republican outside groups increase their spending in the state. For months, Talarico held a significant fundraising and advertising advantage, while national Republican organizations largely stayed on the sidelines.
That has changed. Texas PAC, a new group connected to the Senate Leadership Fund, has begun buying tens of millions of dollars in advertising to support Paxton.
The Texas Tribune reported that an initial purchase included about $32 million in broadcast television advertising across the Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio and Austin markets. Punchbowl News separately reported that Texas PAC expects to spend more than $50 million in the state overall.
The Senate Leadership Fund, affiliated with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, is one of the Republican Party’s major outside groups in competitive Senate contests. Its involvement follows reports that Trump’s political operation and groups associated with Elon Musk have also directed resources toward Paxton