James Talarico, the Democrat running for U.S. Senate in Texas, is back on the campaign trail after a bout of the flu kept him out of sight for more than a week.

On Friday, Talarico walked the grounds of the Austin City Limits music festival in Zilker Park and greeted voters, The Texas Tribune reported. "Hate to disappoint the conspiracy theorists, but James is still alive and meeting with voters at ACL today," spokesman JT Ennis posted on X, Fox News reported.

His last in-person campaign event was Sept. 26, a news conference on gas prices in Carrollton, Fox News reported. On Sept. 30, he joined a business forum by video instead of in person, and he said, "I was diagnosed with the flu," NBC News reported. He added that he had gone to urgent care in Dallas the night before and was "my most contagious right now."

The absence became a campaign issue. Republican Ken Paxton's campaign demanded "proof of life" and promoted missing-person posters, while Talarico says Paxton has not agreed to any of the four debates he has accepted, the Tribune reported. Sen. Ted Cruz posted a milk carton with Talarico's face on it, NBC News reported. President Trump wrote that "12 days is a long time to rid yourself of the so-called flu bug," according to Fox News.

Some Democrats worried too, since the race is close and time is short. "Believe me, we don't want this right now," one Texas Democrat involved in the race told NBC News.

Talarico's campaign pushed back on the count, saying his video appearance on Sept. 30 means he was gone closer to nine days, not 12, Fox News reported. Before he got sick, he had held more than 100 public events across the state, the campaign said.

Talarico plans a full in-person schedule this weekend, ahead of a CNN town hall on Oct. 14, Fox News reported.

What we know: Talarico is back in public after the flu and plans a full weekend of events.
What we don't: Whether the absence will cost him with voters.