James Talarico’s Senate campaign is officially denying rumors that his two-week absence from the public eye was the result of a mental health crisis. “This is a lie designed to promote a pathetic conspiracy theory. Last week James Talarico was home in Austin, Texas, recovering from the flu,” campaign spokesman JT Ennis said in a statement Sunday afternoon.
Ennis was responding to a social media post on Sunday by conservative media personality Nick Sortor and self-described “right-wing provocateur” Rhein Amacher, which included an audio recording of a woman who is purportedly an employee at the Lindner Center of Hope, a mental health facility in Mason, Ohio.
In the recording, the woman appeared to suggest that a James Talarico had recently been discharged from the facility, telling the callers she could not locate more detailed information because the discharge was so recent.
“Okay, nothing for James Talarico?” one of the callers asked.
“Let’s see, looks, well, this is what it’s — today — looks like he was just discharged this evening,” the woman replied. “That’s why I don’t have it.”
“Oh, he was discharged then?”
“Mmhmm,” she responded. “So he should be —”
When asked where she was located, the woman identified the Lindner Center of Hope in Mason, Ohio.
🚨 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
The Daily Wire has not independently verified the woman’s identity, her employment at the facility, or the claim made in the recording.
Jennifer Pierson, a representative of the Lindner Center, told The Daily Wire in an email that the facility would not disclose information about current or former patients.
“Lindner Center of Hope respects the privacy and confidentiality of all individuals,” Pierson wrote. “We do not confirm or deny whether any individual is or has been a patient, and we do not comment on individual cases.”
The speculation began after Talarico, appearing remotely at a U.S. Hispanic Business Council event on September 30, said he had been diagnosed with the flu at an urgent care clinic in Dallas. He then disappeared from the campaign trail for two weeks, with no further explanation given. His campaign maintained that he was recovering, but the prolonged absence fueled online rumors about his whereabouts and health.
Last week, unverified rumors from a number of sources began to spread that Talarico was experiencing some kind of mental health episode, not merely a nasty bout of influenza.
The Lindner Center of Hope provides mental health evaluations and treatment for children and adults, including inpatient, outpatient, and residential programs. The facility also offers a 10-day diagnostic assessment and a 28-day residential treatment program.
Its services cover a range of conditions, including depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), eating disorders, schizophrenia, and addiction. It is the same facility where Harris County, Texas, Judge Lina Hidalgo, another high-profile Democrat in the state, spent seven weeks receiving inpatient care in 2023 for depression.
Talarico resurfaced Friday with a brief stop at the Austin City Limits music festival, where he filmed a promotional video with country music star Kacey Musgraves. Some social media users added additional speculation about a private jet flight that departed from Austin, Texas, on Thursday night to Hamilton, Ohio, before returning Friday morning.
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