Drudge Retort: The Other Side of the News
Wednesday, October 14, 2026

The conspiracy theory that James Talarico, the Democratic candidate for a U.S. Senate seat in Texas, recently went to Ohio to receive treatment for mental health issues began after he stopped making campaign appearances at the beginning of October. Several readers asked us about these claims, which they saw on social media. Talarico and a campaign spokesperson have said that he was at his Austin, Texas, home, recuperating from the flu at the time. And the New York Times said it verified that Talarico was at his house by reviewing time-stamped camera images from Talarico's home security system that was provided by his campaign.

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However, on Oct. 11, conservative influencers Nick Sortor and Rhein Amacher said in separate posts on X that they had called the Lindner Center of Hope, a mental health center and hospital in Mason, Ohio, and were told that Talarico had just been there as a patient.

"During my recorded call, an individual identifying themselves as a female facility employee reportedly stated that Talarico was no longer a patient and had been discharged within the previous 24"48 hours," Amacher wrote in his post. He also posted audio from the conversations that he said took place on Oct. 10.

Amacher's and Sortor's claims were then amplified in posts by other conservatives, as well as X owner Elon Musk, who has spent millions of dollars supporting Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, Talarico's Republican opponent in the Senate race.

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