No, James Talarico was not in a mental health facility in Ohio

Texas Senate candidate James Talarico, who was out of public campaigning for nine days this month with the flu, refuted a viral social media rumor Sunday that he was at a mental health hospital in Ohio. 

The treatment facility he was purported to be at went as far as to publicly deny ever having Talarico as a patient, while Talarico said not only was he not treated for mental health issues, he’s never even been to Ohio. 

“No, I have not,” Talarico said Sunday in an interview with The Dallas Morning News’ editorial board when asked if he was absent from the campaign to receive mental health care. “I was at home sick in bed with the flu.”

So, how did we get here? 

This all started Sept. 29, when Talarico said a “nasty case” of the flu sent him to a Dallas urgent care. The next day, he joined a forum sponsored by the United States Hispanic Business Council virtually from Hotel Indigo in Dallas and announced he was sick. 

“I was feeling pretty, pretty, pretty crappy and decided to take the week off,” Talarico said Sunday. “In my experience, if you don’t take time to recover, it tends to elongate and get worse over time.”

As Talarico’s absence stretched on for several days, conservative influencers were gaining hundreds of thousands of likes and views on posts alleging to have information that contradicted his account.  

“I have received unverified information on James Talarico’s whereabouts,” influencer Sara Gonzalez wrote on X Thursday morning in a post that has been viewed more than 5.7 million times. “If true, it will END his campaign.” 

Later that day, Republican opponent and Attorney General Ken Paxton appeared to lean into the rumors, posting a fake “WANTED” poster of Talarico that read, “Use caution when approaching! Talarico is mentally fragile, easily overwhelmed, and prone to illness.” 

A Republican strategist posted screenshots of a private jet’s flight path from Austin to a small airport in Hamilton, Ohio — about 20 miles from the Lindner Center of Hope, a private inpatient mental health facility. It’s where Democratic Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo sought treatment in 2023.

The plane landed back in Austin on Friday morning, the same day as Talarico’s first in-person appearance at the Austin City Limits Music Festival, which Gonzalez and others seized on as proof of their theory.  

Lindner addressed the rumors directly on X Sunday evening, writing: “Representative James Talarico has never received treatment from Lindner Center of Hope.” 

Talarico reposted the statement, adding “I’ve never even been to Ohio” with a laughing emoji.

Paxton’s office declined to comment when contacted after Talarico and the treatment facility said the rumors were false. 

“I’m really happy that we took that time off the campaign trail because I feel much better,” Talarico told The News. “And now we’re back — full speed ahead.”