Democratic U.S. Senate nominee James Talarico made his first public appearance in more than a week on Friday, showing up unannounced at the Austin City Limits music festival in Zilker Park.
Talarico, who is running against Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, had been off the campaign trail since Sept. 30, when he said he was diagnosed with the flu. His last scheduled in-person appearance before that was a Sept. 28 fundraiser in New York with Robert De Niro. On Sept. 30, he appeared only virtually at an event with the U.S. Hispanic Business Council.
His absence, lasting roughly nine days, drew public attention as early voting approaches in the race. Paxton’s campaign had mocked the gap in Talarico’s schedule, likening it to a missing-persons case.
Video circulating online Friday appeared to show Talarico walking the grounds of Zilker Park and greeting voters ahead of an expected appearance onstage at the festival. Talarico’s spokesman, JT Ennis, confirmed the footage was genuine.
Hate to disappoint the conspiracy theorists, but James is still alive and meeting with voters at ACL today.
The Texas Tribune also reported that Talarico was alive and well. As of Friday, Talarico had not given an interview or issued a personal statement addressing his absence from the trail.
