Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico on Sunday dismissed online conspiracies suggesting a mental health episode caused his absence from the campaign trail last week and reiterated that he had the flu and was back to campaigning after a full recovery.

In an interview with NBC , Talarico said he had a “nasty case of the flu” and avoided going out and campaigning because he “didn’t want to get anyone else sick.”

Talarico’s absence had triggered speculation about his condition and some prominent right wing accounts made unsubstiated claims that he was taking a break due to mental health reasons.

Trillionaire Elon Musk, whose super PAC is backing Talarico’s GOP opponent Ken Paxton, amplified several posts on X falsely claiming that the Democrat was admitted to the Lindner Center of Hope, a mental health center in Ohio.

The center issued a statement on X, saying Talarico has “never received treatment from Lindner Center of Hope,” and the Democrat reshared the post and wrote: “I’ve never even been to Ohio.”

The claim about Talarico being admitted to the mental health center was promoted by right-wing influencers Nick Sotor and Rhein Amacher. Sotor’s post, which Musk responded to, included a clip of a phone call in which a purported staffer at the facility claimed Talarico was discharged on Saturday evening. However, the Bulwark reported that timeline is inconsistent with Talarico attending the Austin City Limits festival on Friday and a Kacey Musgraves concert on Saturday.

What Had Talarico’s Opponent Said About His Absence?

Paxton’s team mocked the Democrat for staying away from the campaign trail last week and demanded that Talarico provide “proof of life. The Republican candidate’s campaign also distributed “ missing” posters asking why Talarico had not been seen in public for 11 days.

What Did Trump Say About Talarico’s Absence?

Last week, President Donald Trump also chimed in about Talarico’s lack of public appearances, with a Truth Social post saying: “No one has seen him for an extended period of time. Where is he? What is wrong with him? Bad rumors are coming out. He should immediately report to a Debate Stage against Ken Paxton, who is ready, willing, and able.” Over the weekend, Talarico appeared to mock Trump’s post and wrote on X : “I challenged Ken Paxton to a debate 85 days ago, but no one has heard from him. People are getting worried. I’ve received credible reports he’s suffering from a rare condition that causes clinical levels of cowardice.”

What Do The Polling Numbers Say?

A New York Times and Sienna University poll published earlier this month showed Talarico ahead of Paxton 51% to 45%. Another poll YouGov conducted earlier this month showed Talarico ahead of Paxton by six points. No Democrat has won a statewide race in Texas since 1994.

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