Talarico steps off Texas Senate campaign trail after flu diagnosis

Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico stepped off the campaign trail following a flu diagnosis as his GOP opponent, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, launches new attack ads focusing on the Democrat’s absence.

Talarico disclosed his illness at a U.S. Hispanic Business Council forum which he joined virtually, saying, “I was ready to eat my favorite quesadilla tacos, but 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.”

He continued that he was diagnosed with the flu and was at his “most contagious” during the event on Sept. 30.

“I guess I’ve been shaking too many hands on the campaign trail and so I want to keep everybody safe,” he said. “If I was passing on this illness to somebody and got someone’s grandmother or someone’s baby sick, I…couldn’t live with myself, so I thought the best thing to do was to put safety first and put everyone’s health first.”

In response, Paxton........

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