Victor Davis Hanson says the curious disappearance of James Talarico from the campaign trail was not an isolated case.
In fact, Hanson pointed to another prominent Democrat candidate who has also spent recent days ducking the kind of public scrutiny that comes with asking voters for a major promotion.
The second candidate is former Biden administration official Xavier Becerra, who is running for governor of California.
Hanson connected the two campaigns during a new discussion published Saturday, arguing that both men had become far less visible just as the political pressure around them intensified.
There is an important update in Talarico’s case: the Texas Democrat returned to the trail Friday after a nine-day absence that his campaign attributed to a severe case of the flu.
Before that return, however, Talarico’s whereabouts had become a genuine campaign issue. President Donald Trump’s team was among those publicly asking where he had gone.
James Talarico reportedly hasn't been seen in two weeks. Where in the world could have Talafreako wandered off to? Maybe he put on a mask and went to a vegan convention…
pic.twitter.com/9O46LHt2VN
— Team Trump (Text TRUMP to 88022) (@TeamTrump) October 8, 2026
According to The Texas Tribune, Talarico resurfaced at Austin City Limits on Friday and said he had been seriously ill. His campaign said he visited urgent care and noted that the illness was especially difficult because he has Type 1 diabetes.
That explains the physical absence. It does not erase the political problem created by a Senate candidate vanishing from public view for more than a week while speculation swirled and his campaign offered only limited information.
Talarico had last been seen campaigning in person on September 30 before missing a series of public events. His team said he continued fundraising and working remotely while recovering, but the silence left an obvious opening for opponents to fill.
Hanson’s larger point was that Democrats seem increasingly willing to shield candidates when unscripted appearances could do more harm than good.
That brings us to Becerra.
During the discussion, Hanson recalled Becerra’s rough performance in the first California gubernatorial debate and said the former Health and Human Services secretary then backed away from another debate.
Hanson argued that Becerra’s campaign had little incentive to put him back under the lights, where his record and answers would face sustained questioning.
The dispute is not quite as simple as a candidate literally fleeing a scheduled stage. The Daily Signal reported that Republican candidate Steve Hilton accused Becerra of backing out of a Los Angeles Times forum.
A Times representative said Becerra had never formally committed and that his schedule did not permit him to attend. The representative also said efforts to find another date were unsuccessful.
Whatever label the campaigns put on it, the result is the same: California voters did not get the planned face-to-face exchange, and Becerra has not rushed to replace it.
That matters in a race where voters are still comparing candidates and where a live debate can expose far more than another round of polished campaign advertising.
Hanson also highlighted the striking split between public and campaign polling in California.
A September UC Berkeley poll showed Becerra holding a commanding lead over Hilton. But an internal Hilton campaign poll released this week put Becerra at 45.7 percent, Hilton at 40.1 percent and 14.1 percent undecided.
An internal online poll is not neutral proof that the race has suddenly become a toss-up. Still, its release helps explain why Hilton is pressing the debate issue so aggressively—and why Hanson sees Becerra’s lower profile as a calculated strategy rather than an accident.
Hanson’s argument is familiar because Democrats have used versions of it before: keep the candidate out of unpredictable settings, limit hostile questions, and let friendly media or campaign advertising carry the message.
It worked for Joe Biden in 2020. The problem is that voters now recognize the playbook.
Talarico tried to turn the criticism around immediately after returning, mocking Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for not accepting his debate challenge.
Fair enough. Every candidate seeking high office should be willing to debate, answer difficult questions, and defend a record in public.
That standard applies to Paxton and Talarico. It most certainly applies to Becerra, too.
The media can argue over whether a candidate “canceled,” “never committed,” or simply had a scheduling conflict. Voters are entitled to look past the spin and ask a much simpler question: Who is actually showing up?
Hanson believes the answer is becoming a serious liability for more than one Democrat campaign.
Featured image: Victor Davis Hanson at Pepperdine University. Photo by Goingwell, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Adapted to 1600×900 and color-enhanced.
This is a Guest Post from our friends over at WLTReport. View the original article here.
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