James Talarico is the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Texas. He wants to beat Republican Ken Paxton and represent more than 30 million Texans in Washington. First he has to explain where he disappeared for almost two weeks in late September and early October.
His campaign lied and said he had a bad case of the flu. On September 30 he joined a video call with the United States Hispanic Business Council and told them he felt under the weather, went to urgent care in Dallas the night before, and was diagnosed with the flu. He canceled in-person events so he would not spread it. The campaign repeated the same story for days: he was home in Austin, in bed, recovering. He finally reappeared in public on October 9 at the Austin City Limits music festival.
🚨 BREAKING EXCLUSIVE: Ohio mental hospital CONFIRMS James Talarico was discharged from the facility earlier this week
The “flu” thing was a BIG FAT LIE
Following reporting by @SaraGonzalesTX and @CarolineWren, a hospital employee told @RheinAmacher and I that Talarico had in fact been a patient at the Lindner Center of Hope near Cincinnati, Ohio, which specializes in around-the-clock mental health treatment.
While I sympathize with those dealing with mental health crises, this man is CLEARLY not suited to become a US Senator representing over 30 MILLION TEXANS.
The job doesn’t get easier after being elected — it only gets MORE stressful.
And Talarico clearly can’t handle it.
I pray he gets the help he needs, but Texans need a real representative they can rely on.
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) October 11, 2026
Democrat mental case – the Democrats sure can pick them, huh!
That account does not match what a hospital employee told reporters on Sunday. Independent journalist Nick Sortor posted a video of a recorded phone call to the Lindner Center of Hope in Mason, Ohio, near Cincinnati. The woman on the call identified the facility and said a patient named James Talarico had been discharged earlier that evening or within the previous day or two. She could not pull more records yet because the discharge was so recent. The Lindner Center specializes in around-the-clock mental health treatment for adults and adolescents. It offers inpatient care, residential programs, and other intensive services for conditions including depression and other serious issues.
It is now confirmed that James Talarico was in a mental health facility during his 14 day absence from the campaign trail. He told voters he had “the flu” Legacy media didn’t question it, so independent journalists had to do their jobs for them. This is extremely serious. – Benny Johnson
Sortor called the flu story a big fat lie. He said the confirmation came from a hospital employee after earlier reporting by Sara Gonzales and Caroline Wren. In the clip, the employee clearly states that Talarico was just discharged. Sortor wrote that he sympathizes with anyone facing a mental health crisis, but the job of U.S. Senator is stressful and only gets harder after election day. He said Talarico needs help and Texans need a representative they can rely on.
🚨 JUST IN: Elon Musk is CALLING OUT TX Senate candidate James Talarico after evidence emerges he rushed off to a mental hospital, while telling the public he had the “flu”
ELON: “The Talarico campaign is hiding something big that voters ought to know about.” 🎯
The campaign is PANICKING!
Call logs show the mental hospital employee in Ohio confirm Talarico was discharged, per @nicksortor @RheinAmacher
Bombshell.
The legacy media could never.
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) October 11, 2026
Talarico’s campaign spokesman JT Ennis denied it flatly. “This is a lie designed to promote a pathetic conspiracy theory,” Ennis said. “Last week James Talarico was home in Austin, Texas recovering from the flu.” The hospital itself will not confirm or deny anything. A representative told reporters the center respects patient privacy and does not comment on individual cases.
Ken Paxton and President Trump spent the week highlighting the absence. Paxton’s campaign put out releases asking for proof of life and mocked the “flu” excuse. Trump called Talarico “missing in action” at a rally and noted that a simple flu does not usually keep a candidate off the trail for nearly two weeks. Talarico’s team has continued to push for debates with Paxton and says the Democrat is back on the trail meeting voters.
Humor… or close to reality
TEXAS SENATE RACE: Exclusive footage of James Talarico (CIS) after returning from his successful electroshock treatment at an Ohio mental asylum. Thank God he’s back to old self. 😂 https://t.co/K8ru7SBY2M
— @amuse (@amuse) October 11, 2026
Talarico is a state representative from the Austin area. He is a former middle school teacher and a Presbyterian seminarian. He won the Democratic primary earlier this year against U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett. Recent polls show the race against Paxton is competitive, with some surveys giving Talarico a narrow lead. No Democrat has won a Texas Senate seat since 1988. The election is November 3.
A hospital employee on a recorded call said Talarico was recently discharged from a facility that treats mental health conditions around the clock. The campaign insists he was home with the flu the whole time. Voters in Texas will decide in a few weeks whether that explanation holds up and whether he is the person they want in the Senate.
— The Whatfinger News Team: Sgt K and Ben, with Grok on edits
Top Features and Vids across all Whatfinger sites
- Zohran Mamdani press conference GOES HORRIBLY WRONG.
- THE SPHINX WON’T STAY BURIED. JOE ROGAN KEEPS ASKING. THE LEFT CALLS IT RACIST.
- They Found a Boat from 1 Million Years Ago… | Joe Rogan – Article under the vid
- Japan’s Underwater “City”: Natural Rock or 10,000-Year or Older Ruin?
- Aggressive Chinese Ship BLASTS Water Cannon at Philippine Vessel Conducting Medical Evac
Election Links – Nov 3rd is just a few blinks away!
- Whatfinger Polls – ALL POLLS – Plus Polymarket. On Desktop view scroll down for all of the latest polls from all sources under the Polymarkets – plus we label them as they should be. Fox Polls are NOT Republican, they are always ‘mixed’. – Whatfinger Polls
- Election Maps – Past Elections maps
- Election Maps – Make your own – put on your site – Fantasy scenarios – up to you
Our Projects…
- For Seniors: The check, the rate, the pump, and the ounce. What is left after the bill, the premium, and the call that wants your Medicare number. – What’s Left
- FingerJam is up – discover music, listen tou the top songs from all decades, much more
- Robots Of Dawn – Latest tech, robots you can buy now, what’s coming… Top players
- Joe Rogan Mysteries🛑
- NEW: Whatfinger Deals – Best Prices – Amazon, Walmart, Home Depot, Target on select items.
- FingerPlay is up: search a game, get the official trailer and player clips, score it with Fingers, and run the lists — Out Now through From the Past, plus RPGs, shooters, and each console.
- Whatfinger Hate Hoax File – You wanted the better research, here you go🛑
- The list — Survival Command: Grid-Down Survival & Weapons – save this link – it might save your life one day!
- We Built the Movie And TV Page Rotten Tomatoes Is Afraid Of – And FREE! – Whatfinger News’ Flick
