Texas Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico returned to the campaign trail over the weekend after a 9-day absence that fueled speculation about his whereabouts.
His opponent, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, and other Republicans questioned Talarico's explanation that he had been home with the flu.
At one point, Paxton called for "proof of life" in a social media post questioning Talarico's whereabouts.
The speculation included unsubstantiated claims circulating online that Talarico had been receiving treatment at a mental health facility in Ohio.
“I had the flu," Talarico insisted in an interview with MS Now on Sunday. "This is the craziest thing I’ve ever heard. It’s wild that someone can just post something on the internet and then the media just runs with it."
The rumors prompted the Lindner Center of HOPE to publicly deny that Talarico had been a patient.
"Representative James Talarico has never received treatment from Lindner Center of Hope," Lindner Center HOPE posted on X.
Talarico responded to the post by saying, "I’ve never even been to Ohio 😂"
Over the weekend, Talarico was seen meeting with potential voters at the Austin City Limits Music Festival. He also attended a Kacey Musgraves concert in Dallas on Saturday, where he met with the country singer.
The Texas Senate contest is among the most closely watched races in the country as Democrats seek their first statewide election victory in more than 30 years.
