Nothing beats a midterm mystery in what may or may not be a battleground state this year!
According to the media and the polls, James Talarico represents the Democrats' best hope in over thirty years of winning a statewide election. At stake is control of the U.S. Senate and perhaps a blockade on any presidential appointments in the next two years. Ken Paxton and his allies have poured tens of millions of dollars into the state already, hoping to bolster the GOP chances of holding this Senate seat and turning Talarico into a footnote.
However, it appears that Talarico may have already started that process. Talarico's TV ads have all but disappeared from Texas airwaves, except reportedly in Houston, where black voters remain skeptical about his candidacy. And now it appears that Talarico himself has all but disappeared from the campaign over the past week. Townhall's Joe Chalfant reported yesterday on the sudden cancellation of Talarico events, and a threadbare attempt by his campaign to gaslight observers over it:
Talarico has not been seen publicly in Texas in over a week, with his last appearance occurring on Saturday, September 26, before he took a fundraising trip to New York City. There, he was treated to a VIP fundraising dinner where attendees, like a filmmaker who labeled America a “shithole” and a group that advocates for child sex change surgeries, were charged $27,000 a plate.
On Wednesday, September 30 Talarico was slated to speak with the U.S. Hispanic Business Council in the Rio Grande Valley, but instead joined virtually from a hotel because “his staff says he’s ill and was unable to travel.” During the appearance, Talarico claimed that he was forced to seek care at an urgent care clinic in Dallas, but social media users have disputed the timeline offered by the candidate. ...
Then, on Friday, October 2, the Talarico campaign chose to recycle footage from a February 22 rally before Talarico had even won the Democrat nomination, and tried to pass it off as current.
The campaign once again cancelled a planned appearance for October 6, at a grassroots Final Austin Fundraiser. The event was advertised as an opportunity for “neighbors, organizers, and supporters from all corners of the community to gather” and prepare for the final stretch of the election season. When attempting to RSVP for the event, interested parties are told that the event has been rescheduled and are offered no details as to when the new date may be.
Could this just be a case of the flu, a little "campaign crud" picked up by shaking hands and kissing babies? Perhaps. But would a case of the flu necessitate this kind of threadbare lie?
Exact same post in February? https://t.co/Qd7iiK7KOa
— L A R R Y (@LarryOConnor) October 4, 2026
Oopsie. While the Team Talarico post didn't explicitly claim that the Lubbock event took place in recent days, they also didn't label it as a flashback, either. The implication was that Talarico remained active on the campaign trail and was being hailed by cheering general-election crowds, not Democrat primary voters eager for an alternative to Jasmine Crockett.
Talarico's campaign schedule looks even more curious. As Chalfant also notes, Talarico has no appearances at all on his calendar with less than four weeks to go before Election Day. The only high-priority event on the schedule at the moment is the campaign's weekly digital "huddle." The calendar lists a number of other activities such as phone banks and block walks, all while the candidate himself has no commitments on the calendar at all.
Where is Talarico, and why has he suddenly disappeared from view? Matt Margolis has a couple of possible explanations at PJ Media:
So why would a Senate campaign bench its own candidate in the closing weeks of the race? From where I sit, there are two likely explanations for Talarico's campaign going dark.
The first is that his campaign is afraid he’ll say something disturbing again. Lash month, video caught Talarico answering a question about who his favorite drag queen is. ... Clearly, a candidate who stays out of sight can't hand the opposition new material.
Perhaps, but the GOP already has a plethora of material to use against Talarico. That doesn't explain the way Talarico's ads have disappeared either, which seemed evenly split between positive messaging on his own behalf and attack ads on Paxton's record. Matt has a second option:
The second explanation for Talarico’s disappearance is that the campaign is bracing for a damaging story to break. Under this theory, the cleared schedule buys his team time to prepare a response and keeps reporters from cornering him before it lands.
Whatever the cause, the basic math of a campaign hasn't changed. The final month is when candidates want every camera, every stage, and every handshake they can get. With a month to go before the election, pulling the candidate from the trail is odd and, at the least, reflects panic over something.
Allow me to posit a third option: Team Talarico went broke over the summer. That would explain why Talarico's ads have largely faded from TV, and also why Talarico took time off the campaign trail to fundraise last month in both California and New York. Chuck Schumer's Senate Majority Fund kicked in a few million dollars last week, but those funds are being directed to digital ads on platforms like YouTube, a curiously small approach to a key race for hopes of Democrat control of the Senate. That would explain why Talarico is not making appearances, because it costs money to stage those events.
Perhaps the answer is a combination of all three. Paxton may have an October surprise for Talarico, the campaign may be worried about Talarico listing his all-time favorite drag queens, and he might not have any cash left. Only Talarico and his handlers know for sure, but clearly, something is wrong at Talarico HQ. And I wonder whether real polling data has anything to do with it, because Democrats could fix the money problem easily ... and they aren't. Hmmmmm.
Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
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