Texas State Rep. James Talarico (D-50th District) has disappeared from the campaign trail with 28 days left before he faces Republican Ken Paxton. His campaign calendar now lists no public appearances for the candidate himself, only canvassing and get-out-the-vote gatherings.

According to a report from our sister site Townhall, Talarico's last public sighting in Texas came on Saturday, Sept. 26, more than a week ago. He then left for a fundraising trip to New York City, where the VIP dinner ran $27,000 a plate. The guest list included a filmmaker who called America a “s***hole" and a group that advocates child sex change surgeries.

The absences piled up from there. Talarico skipped his in-person Sept. 30 speech to the U.S. Hispanic Business Council in the Rio Grande Valley and joined virtually from a hotel instead. The explanation attendees got was, "His staff says he's ill and was unable to travel." During that remote appearance, Talarico said he had to seek treatment at an urgent care clinic in Dallas, and social media users have disputed that timeline.

Then came the recycled footage. On Friday, Oct. 2, the campaign posted video from a Feb. 22 rally, held before Talarico had even won the Democrat nomination, and tried to pass it off as current.

That was a blatant attempt to appear active to the public when it is not. Three days later, the campaign canceled his Oct. 5 event with the Central Texas African American Civic Engagement Symposium without explanation.

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The cancellations kept coming. The campaign also scrapped his Oct. 6 grassroots Final Austin Fundraiser, which it had advertised as a chance for "neighbors, organizers, and supporters from all corners of the community to gather" and prepare for the final stretch. People who try to RSVP now learn that the event has a new date, except nobody will say what that date is.

So why would a Senate campaign bench its own candidate in the closing weeks of the race? From where I sit, there are two likely explanations for Talarico's campaign going dark.

The first is that his campaign is afraid he’ll say something disturbing again. Lash month, video caught Talarico answering a question about who his favorite drag queen is.

In the video, Talarico didn’t even hesitate before answering, "Oh, my gosh. Probably Alyssa Edwards." 

Alyssa Edwards is the stage name of Justin Dwayne Lee Johnson, a performer who has described himself as "a drag performer that works with children," and who has spent years advocating for youth drag shows. Johnson has openly discussed sharing the stage with the child dancers he trains himself

In other footage, he contradicted his own attempts to disavow his past radical statements.

"My positions haven't changed,” Talarico said. "I will fight for trans kids in the Senate the same way I fought for trans kids in the legislature.”

Clearly, a candidate who stays out of sight can't hand the opposition new material. 

Last month it was announced that CNN would host Talarico for a town hall event in which Talarico would answer questions from anchor Erin Burnett and audience members. It is not clear whether that event is still happening.

The second explanation for Talarico’s disappearance is that the campaign is bracing for a damaging story to break. Under this theory, the cleared schedule buys his team time to prepare a response and keeps reporters from cornering him before it lands.

Whatever the cause, the basic math of a campaign hasn't changed. The final month is when candidates want every camera, every stage, and every handshake they can get. With a month to go before the election, pulling the candidate from the trail is odd and, at the least, reflects panic over something.

“The more Texans learn about James Talarico’s radical plan to eliminate oil and gas, raise taxes, and force sex changes on kids, the more they realize they want nothing to do with him,” RNC spokesman Zach Kraft told PJ Media. “No wonder he is running scared and hiding from Texans.”