Texas Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico is attempting to tamp down growing speculation over his unexplained two-week disappearance by insisting he was merely sidelined with a severe bout of the flu.
According to the Gateway Pundit, questions about Talaricos whereabouts intensified after an employee at the Lindner Center of HOPE in Mason, Ohio, allegedly stated in a recorded phone call that the candidate had been just discharged from the mental health facility. Talaricos campaign swiftly rejected that account, asserting that Talarico was home in Austin, Texas recovering from the flu, even as the timeline and details of his story have continued to shift in public appearances.
Talarico first addressed his condition on September 30 during a virtual appearance at a United States Hispanic Business Council forum, speaking from what appeared to be a hotel room. I was starting to feel kind of under the weather a few days ago, and last night it got so bad that I went to the urgent care here in Dallas, he said, adding, And I was diagnosed with the flu, and so uh I'm running a fever, and I'm my most contagious uh right now.
In his latest media hits, however, Talarico offered a different version of events that raises further questions about his credibility. I just went to my primary care physician, but it wasn't anything worse than, you know, a nasty case of the flu, he now claims, leaving voters to wonder whether he was at urgent care here in Dallas or with his regular doctor back home in Austin.
Pressed by DallasFort Worth-based NBC reporter Phil Prazan to account for his absence from the campaign trail, Talarico stuck to his revised narrative. Yeah, I got the flu, and I'm feeling much better, and I'm glad I had a chance to recover, he said, offering no medical documentation or independent verification to back up his account.
He categorically rejected the allegation that he had been treated at a mental health facility, dismissing the report outright. That's not true, he said of the claim that he was in a mental hospital. I just had the flu, and I feel much better. But it's a good reminder that you can't believe everything you read on the internet.
Rather than address the inconsistencies in his own statements, Talarico pivoted to attacking Republican Senate nominee Ken Paxton, signaling that Democrats intend to lean on mockery rather than transparency. He boasted that he is ready to debate Paxton, declaring, You know, I've heard rumors that he has a rare medical condition that causes clinical levels of cowardice. So, I know Ken Paxton has asked for proof of life for me; I'm asking for proof of spine from him, he said.
Talarico repeated the same talking points almost verbatim in an interview with MS Nows Rosa Flores, underscoring how carefully scripted his responses have become. I had the flu. This is the craziest thing I've ever heard. It's wild that someone can just put something on the internet and then the media just runs with it, he said, before again sneering, You know, I've heard credible reports that Paxton has a serious medical condition that causes clinical levels of cowardice... He has asked for proof of life from me; I'm asking for proof of spine from him.
For Texans weighing their choices in President Trumps second term, the episode highlights a familiar pattern from the left: shifting stories, unverified denials, and a preference for partisan insults over straightforward answers. Whether Talarico can reassure voters that he is being honest about his health and whereaboutsor whether his conflicting accounts deepen concerns about his fitness for high officeremains an open question that his Republican opponent is unlikely to let fade quietly.
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