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A viral rumor claiming that Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico secretly spent his recent absence from campaigning at an Ohio behavioral health center has now been debunked — but new questions are emerging about why evidence that could have quickly countered the claim was not made public as speculation exploded online.
The New York Times reported Monday that it reviewed time-stamped security camera footage provided by Talarico’s campaign showing the Democrat at his Austin home between Oct. 1 and Oct. 8, when his nine-day absence from the campaign trail fueled growing speculation about his whereabouts.
The images, which the campaign provided to the Times on the condition that they not be released for security reasons, offer the clearest independent evidence supporting Talarico’s account that he was at home recovering from the flu and contradict claims that he instead traveled more than 1,000 miles to seek treatment at a behavioral health center in Ohio.
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Texas Democrat and U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico speaks during a campaign event in Round Rock, Texas, U.S., Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (Jordan Vonderhaar/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
But the revelation also sparked criticism from some observers, who questioned why Talarico’s campaign didn’t provide similarly verifiable evidence sooner, before an unsubstantiated theory about his whereabouts spread on social media and was amplified by prominent conservatives.
“In October of an election year, every day and hour counts because candidates are doing everything they can to meet with voters. So if you’re out of commission for a while, it’s easy for voters to wonder what’s going on,” GOP strategist Mark Bednar told Fox News Digital.
“That being said, if there’s a simple explanation like an illness, it’s even easier to prove it directly to voters. If the flu really was Talarico’s case, it’s mind-boggling malpractice that his campaign didn’t demonstrate that quickly and easily.”
Chuck Ross, an investigative reporter for the Washington Free Beacon, highlighted the Times report on Monday, writing on X that the footage “could have been released a week ago and put the rumors to rest.”
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Talarico’s campaign had maintained throughout his absence that he was recovering from the flu, and Talarico appeared virtually at an event on September 30 while visibly ill and told attendees that he had contracted the illness. But his prolonged absence from in-person campaigning has increasingly become a subject of speculation as Election Day approaches.
Speculation accelerated after Talarico’s campaign reposted footage from a February rally on Oct. 3 without initially identifying it as a months-old video. Her campaign told the Times that she regularly reposts old social media content.
“Let’s be fair. You’re 20 days away from Election Day and you’re running for Senate in one of the biggest states in the country. Use technology to connect: run videos to cameras, broadcast live. Going in the dark is malpractice,” Matt Gorman, communications director at Targeted Victory, told Fox News Digital.
“You’re running for Senate, not a cabin dweller.”
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Left: Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico speaks during a press conference at the Hyatt Centric Congress Avenue on July 22, 2026, in Austin, Texas. Right: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton salutes at the end of a campaign event at Matt’s Rancho Martinez restaurant, August 4, 2026, in Allen, Texas. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images; Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
Fox News Digital on Tuesday gave Talarico’s campaign an opportunity to respond to criticism and update its previous statement after the New York Times article. The campaign declined to add anything to its earlier response.
“This is a conspiracy theory that has been proven false. James is excited to be back on the campaign trail after recovering from the flu,” campaign spokesperson JT Ennis told Fox News Digital on Monday.
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Ennis, meanwhile, turned his attention to Talarico’s Republican opponent, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
“It’s been 87 days since James challenged Ken Paxton to come out of hiding and answer Texans’ questions in a debate, something even President Trump asked him to do,” Ennis said. “The ball is in Paxton’s court.”
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