The internet was full of wild claims last week. People said Texas Senate nominee James Talarico was hiding in an Ohio hospital. They claimed he was getting mental health treatment. This rumor spread fast and looked very bad for him. Now we have proof that the story was false. It turns out he was just sick with the flu. But the real story is not about the illness. It is about how his team handled the lie.
The New York Times reviewed security camera footage. The images had time stamps on them. They showed Talarico at his home in Austin. This was during the nine days he disappeared. He was there from October 1 to October 8. The video proves he did not travel one thousand miles to Ohio. He was home recovering from the flu. The campaign gave these images to the Times. They asked the paper not to publish them. They cited security reasons for this request.
This delay caused a firestorm of criticism. Experts say the campaign made a big mistake. They say it was a failure of basic strategy. Mark Bednar is a Republican strategist. He told Fox News Digital that this was bad practice. He called it mind-numbing malpractice. He said if the flu was real, they should have proved it. They could have shown proof right away. They did not do this. Let the rumor grow instead.
Chuck Ross is an investigative reporter. He wrote about this on social media. He said the footage could have stopped the rumors. It could have been released a week ago. It would have quashed the false claims. But the campaign waited. They let the speculation build up. This happened just before Election Day. Every hour counts in a tight race. Voters wonder where their candidate is. Silence makes people suspicious.
Matt Gorman is a communications officer. He works for Targeted Victory. He said going dark is malpractice. He noted Talarico is running for Senate. He is not a regular office worker. He should have used technology to connect. He could have done a livestream. He could have posted a direct video. Instead, he went quiet for nine days. This was a risky move.
The campaign had said Talarico had the flu. He appeared on a video call on September 30. He looked visibly ill at that time. He told people he was sick. But he did not show proof later. The confusion got worse on October 3. The campaign reposted old video from February. They did not say it was old footage. This made people think he was hiding. The campaign said they often repost old content. This did not stop the questions.
Fox News Digital asked for a response. They wanted an update after the Times report. The campaign declined to add anything new. They stuck to their original statement. Spokesperson JT Ennis called the rumor a conspiracy theory. He said it has been proven false. He said Talarico is excited to campaign again. He turned the focus to his opponent. He challenged Ken Paxton to a debate. He said President Trump asked for this debate. He said the ball is in Paxton's court.
The facts are now clear. Talarico was at home. He was not in Ohio. The rumor was wrong. The campaign failed to act fast. This allowed the lie to spread. Voters now have the truth. They can judge the strategy for themselves. The evidence is public record.