Texas Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico was recovering from the flu at his Austin home during his days-long absence from the campaign trail, his campaign says — and on Monday it released eight days of timestamped home security camera photos to prove it. The images, spanning October 1 to October 8, are the campaign's answer to a viral claim that Talarico had secretly been treated at a mental health facility in Ohio while telling voters he was sick.
Nine Days Off the Trail With the Flu
Talarico, 37, a state representative and the Democratic nominee in the Texas Senate race against Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, was last seen at in-person campaign events on September 26 in Carrollton and at the State Fair of Texas, followed by a fundraiser in New York City on September 29. On September 30 he joined a United States Hispanic Business Council event virtually, telling the audience he had gone to an urgent care clinic in Dallas the night before and been diagnosed with the flu.
The Associated Press reports that Talarico has type 1 diabetes, which puts him at higher risk of flu complications. His campaign canceled upcoming events, including an appearance at the Central Texas African American Civic Engagement Symposium. He returned to public view at the Austin City Limits music festival on Friday, October 9, and at a Kacey Musgraves concert in Dallas on Saturday, October 10.
A Viral Claim About an Ohio Facility
The absence had already drawn attacks from Talarico's opponents — Paxton circulated "missing" posters across Texas and demanded "proof of life," while President Donald Trump asked, "Where is he? What is wrong with him?" Then on Sunday, October 11, conservative influencer Nick Sortor posted a purported 47-second phone recording in which a woman he claimed worked at the Lindner Center of Hope in Mason, Ohio, appeared to say Talarico had been discharged that evening. The post drew more than 6.8 million views in a day, according to USA Today.
The claim quickly fell apart. Talarico had already appeared publicly in Texas on Friday night and again on Saturday night — before the supposed discharge. The Lindner Center of Hope wrote on social media that "Representative James Talarico has never received treatment" at its facility. Talarico replied: "I have never even been to Ohio."
Eight Days of Security Camera Images
On Monday, October 12, Talarico's campaign shared eight timestamped images carrying SimpliSafe watermarks, appearing to come from a backyard camera at his Austin home. The images — first reported by The New York Times — show a brown-haired man in different outfits at various times of day, one per day from October 1 to October 8. CBS News matched backyard features in the photos to satellite imagery of the address.
Campaign spokesman J.T. Ennis called the claims that Talarico was elsewhere "a lie designed to promote a pathetic conspiracy theory," adding that "last week James Talarico was home in Austin, Texas recovering from the flu." An Associated Press Fact Focus found the mental-facility claim false, noting that images reviewed by the AP showed Talarico at home over several days.
Whether the photos end the political attacks is another matter — the "missing" posters have already become a fixture of Paxton's campaign messaging, and early voting in the Texas Senate race begins October 19.
Watch: "'I had the flu': James Talarico shuts down rumors after brief absence from campaign trail" — a Scripps News segment on Talarico's return to the trail and his pushback against the misinformation amplified during his absence.
Music in this post's reel: Kevin MacLeod - Darkening Developments (incompetech.com), licensed under CC BY 3.0
Sources:
- CNN: MAGA watches another conspiracy theory blow up in its face
- AP Fact Focus: Posts falsely claim Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico was at a mental facility
- USA Today: Ohio hospital says James Talarico was never a patient amid false claims
- The Times: James Talarico denies mental breakdown during Texas midterm campaign