Talarico cites flu as campaign absence claim is disputed

Texas Senate candidate James Talarico said he missed in-person campaign events while recovering from the flu, as an unverified recording alleging he had been discharged from an Ohio mental-health facility circulated and his campaign denied the claim. Talarico discussed his illness in interviews on October 11, saying he had the flu, rested at home and was feeling better. He said he saw his primary care physician and avoided public events because he did not want to infect others. At a September 30 virtual event, he had said he visited urgent care in Dallas the previous night and was diagnosed with the flu. The reports do not establish whether these were separate visits. Campaign spokesman JT Ennis said Talarico was home in Austin recovering from flu during the absence and rejected the Ohio-facility allegation. Talarico also denied receiving mental-health treatment there. The candidate’s last publicly reported in-person Texas campaign appearance before the gap was September 26; he appeared at Austin City Limits on October 9. The allegation centers on a recording released by Nick Sortor and Rhein Amacher.