Talarico’s ‘Nasty Flu’ Timeline Raises A Lot Of Questions
His strange departure from a very important and very expensive Senate race is a lot like his relationship status: It’s complicated.A Lazy Election Trope Gets A Boring Replay In Texas
'It was a mass front-lawn revolt.'
Investments, strong border, lower crime, OH MY! Trump secures major wins for Texas ahead of the midterms
The midterms could sway political power in the United States, if the Democrats gain control of the Senate and/or the House. To keep that from happening, it is good to remember just how much President Donald Trump and the Republicans have accomplished for America and specifically for Texas since taking power in 2025.
Texas is key to keeping the Senate in Republican control, with Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) facing off against state Rep. James Talarico (D) for the coveted seat currently held by longtime Sen. John Cornyn (R). Paxton defeated Cornyn in a primary runoff in May.
As the midterms draw near, it is important to remember all the wins that Republicans have secured for the American people.
Trump has delivered for Americans, including those in Texas, on the economy, jobs, agriculture, public safety, and fraud.
Americans have saved a total of $82 billion since the Working Families Tax Cuts bill was passed. This piece of legislation cut taxes for working families; eliminated taxes on tips, overtime, and Social Security; and established Trump Accounts for children under 18. Due to these cost-saving measures, both weekly wages and household income are up from when Trump started his second term.
The economy received an additional boost thanks to $11.2 trillion in direct U.S. and foreign investments, some of which was used to create new jobs in Texas. Some of the top-name brands building new opportunities in the state include SpaceX, with a $16.8 billion Terafab facility that will create 3,000 new jobs; Meta’s new $10 billion data center that will create 4,300 jobs; and a $3.6 billion expansion of Toyota’s San Antonio plant that will add 2,000 jobs.
RELATED: Paxton hammers Talarico for going 'missing' from campaign trail — and Trump chimes in hilariously
In addition to new business, Trump increased natural gas shipments and lowered energy costs through a loan to AEP Texas. He also signed an executive order to pause climate change restrictions while expanding fossil fuel production to give the people ample energy for homes, businesses, and technological endeavors like AI.
Trump specifically set out to help farmers with the Farmer Bridge Assistance program that doled out $12 billion in one-time relief payments while they waited for the tax cuts that came with the Working Families Tax Cuts bill. The bill also included a permanent 20% small business tax deduction and expanded export opportunities to send more American crops to foreign nations.
Public safety was also a huge boon for the Trump administration. After the first full year of his second term, all major crime metrics — including violent crimes such as murder, rape, and aggravated assault — dropped by 10% or more in Texas. Many of those metrics have fallen again in 2026.
This is in addition to 16 straight months with no border releases and 2.2 million self-deportations as of February. In 2025, America had net negative migration for the first time in 50 years.
Lastly, the Trump administration aggressively pursued fraudsters throughout Texas and elsewhere with an entire list of arrests, charges, and convictions ranging from Medicare fraud to Ponzi schemes and COVID-19 relief fraud.
The Texas race is close, with pollsters leaning toward Democrat James Talarico as the favorite over Republican Ken Paxton. For the latest Texas Senate seat updates — and to follow other important midterm races across the nation — check out Poll Watch, available to Blaze News, BlazeTV+, and Blaze Unlimited subscribers.
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Paxton hammers Talarico for going 'missing' from campaign trail — and Trump chimes in hilariously
Ken Paxton is mocking his Democrat opponent for seemingly going missing from the campaign trail as Election Day looms.
James Talarico, who is competing against Ken Paxton for a U.S. Senate seat in Texas, recently stopped appearing in person at campaign events and released a statement saying he had contracted the flu from shaking so many hands.
'No one has seen him for an extended period of time. Where is he? What is wrong with him? Bad rumors are coming out.'
On Wednesday, Texas Attorney General Paxton (R) had his supporters chant, "Where is Talarico?" at a Trump rally in San Antonio to ridicule the Democrat in the pivotal last weeks of the campaign.
CNN reported Thursday that Talarico’s last public appearance in Texas was a press conference on September 26.
Talarico's campaign issued a statement about his ongoing absence.
"After holding more than 100 public events and shaking tens of thousands of hands, James came down with the flu but will be back on the trail this weekend," said a statement from campaign spokesperson J.T. Ennis, according to CNN and Brooke Taylor of Fox News.
"Ken Paxton has been ignoring Texans this entire campaign, and his priorities are clear: He doesn’t answer to the people of this state — he answers to his billionaire megadonors and special interests," the statement added.
President Donald Trump issued a scathing post laughing at Talarico for his unusual campaign absence.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, upon information and belief, James TalaFREAKo, who is running for the United States Senate in Texas, is MISSING IN ACTION!" the president wrote on social media Wednesday.
"No one has seen him for an extended period of time. Where is he? What is wrong with him?" he chided. "Bad rumors are coming out."
RELATED: Talarico’s black and Hispanic outreach stalls just weeks before early voting
Paxton posted images to social media of posters jokingly calling Talarico a missing person.
"Missing posters are popping up across Texas as the search continues," he wrote. "LAST SEEN: 12 days ago. Texans everywhere are asking: where is James Talarico?"
Democrats are looking to flip the Texas seat in hopes of seizing control of the U.S. Senate from Republicans in order to thwart the president's agenda in the last half of his final term.
Those hopes might be dashed, as blacks and Hispanics question more and more whether Talarico's campaign has done enough to reach out to those constituencies.
You can check out the latest polling average between Paxton and Talarico, plus race trends and other helpful data, at Blaze News' Poll Watch.
Texas Senate polls 2026: Talarico vs. Paxton
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Talarico’s black and Hispanic outreach stalls just weeks before early voting
Democratic Texas state Rep. Jolanda Jones warned over the summer that James Talarico was not doing enough to win black votes for the upcoming midterms.
Just weeks before Election Day, his campaign may lose even more ground with black and Hispanic voters, potentially dooming Democrats' efforts to seize control of the Senate from Republicans.
'Talarico needs to pay for us to get our voters out. Only then does Talarico have a chance to win.'
James Talarico's U.S. Senate campaign in Texas ran into problems from the very beginning when he defeated Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) for the Democratic nomination. Crockett suggested that black voters in Texas are not excited about Talarico.
Now his campaign has given critics an opening to accuse the woke candidate of ignoring both blacks and Hispanics.
On Monday, a black voter outreach event at the Central Texas African American Civic Engagement Symposium was canceled, just a week after Talarico did not appear in person for an event with the U.S. Hispanic Business Council in South Texas.
Talarico attended the Hispanic event virtually, claiming to be too ill to be there in person.
"I was looking forward to being down in the Valley," he said on Wednesday. "I’ve been talking about it all week. I was ready to eat my favorite quesabirria 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 urgent care here in Dallas."
Afterward, critics pounced on the campaign.
"James Talarico is either taking black voters for granted or giving up on them altogether," said Zach Kraft, a spokesperson for the Republican National Committee, in a statement to the Daily Wire. "Either way, Talarico’s attempt to heal his relationship with black voters is simply mediocre."
In August, an embittered Crockett pointed out that Republicans were not spending in the race as if they believed that Talarico had a chance to win.
"I watch money. When I look at the money, if Republicans start spending money in Texas, then I'll be convinced," she said at the time.
Texas PAC, partially funded by the Republican-linked Senate Leadership Fund, has since reserved $117 million for ads for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, Talarico's Republican opponent, Punchbowl News reported in late September.
RELATED: 'He's been lying to voters': Paxton BEATS DOWN Talarico over alleged election fraud
"I look at where does the NRSC stand? Where does DSCC stand? Right now, neither one are investing, which tells me that their internals are saying the same thing," she added. "So it looks like status quo."
That criticism fits with Jones' warning in July to the Talarico campaign. She said the campaign was paying for "white infrastructure and Hispanic infrastructure" to get out the vote, but not for black infrastructure.
"Talarico needs to pay for us to get our voters out. Only then does Talarico have a chance to win," she said at the time.
The Talarico campaign was also embarrassed when it was caught last week pushing a video about a "huge crowd" of Talarico supporters "in deep-red Lubbock, Texas." However, the video was taken in February, not October.
While polling shows a very tight race between Talarico and Paxton, the Democrat has been getting constantly hammered over his extremist comments and ties.
Early voting in Texas begins October 19.
You can check out the latest polling average between Paxton and Talarico, plus race trends and other helpful data at Blaze News' Poll Watch.
Texas Senate polls 2026: Talarico vs. Paxton
Every public poll of the 2026 Texas Senate race, James Talarico (D) vs. Ken Paxton (R), and the Blaze polling average. From Blaze News.
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Talarico Cannot Be Elected