Texas Senate candidate James Talarico off the trail with the flu

Reported by NBC News. The paragraphs below are the opening of that article, reproduced word for word — not a summary, and not the whole piece.

The bitter fight over a Texas Senate seat that Democrats believe is within reach for the first time in decades should be ramping up right now.

But in the final push, when campaigns believe most voters are finally tuning in, Democratic state Rep. James Talarico has been off the trail for in-person events in the state for 12 days.

His campaign says he has the flu and is expected to be back in action this weekend.

While he has appeared virtually at a forum, Talarico’s last in-person event in the state was on Sept. 26. He visited New York on Sept. 29 for a private fundraiser, and, according to the virtual remarks he gave to the Hispanic Business Council the next day, he returned to Dallas and visited urgent care.

It has all prompted a stream of fodder from his opponent, Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, whose campaign is calling on Talarico to produce a photo of himself with a newspaper showing today’s date.

“We have a simple request: proof of life,” Paxton campaign spokeswoman Madison Cercy said. “James Talarico wants to represent 31 million Texans in the U.S. Senate, but for 12 days, he’s hidden from every one of them. There’s a reason they call it ‘Texas Tough,’ and it’s not because Texans hide at the first sign of trouble. If James Talarico is too fragile to face Texans, he has no business asking for their vote.”