India, Oct. 9 -- The high-stakes Texas Senate race has taken an unexpected turn as Democratic nominee James Talarico confronts a barrage of political attacks stemming from a 12-day absence from the campaign trail, which his team attributes to a severe bout of the flu.

While striving to unseat the Republican challenger in a closely watched electoral battle, Talarico was forced to step back from public appearances after visiting an urgent care clinic in Dallas.

The sudden hiatus immediately became a focal point for conservative opponents, who leveraged the quiet calendar to question the candidate's visibility during the critical final stretch of the election cycle.

Talarico's campaign representatives confirmed that the state representati...