James Talarico Denies Mental Breakdown Rumours as Lindner Center Responds to Claims After Campaign Absence

James Talarico, the Democratic US Senate candidate in Texas, denied mental breakdown rumours on Sunday, telling NBC 5 he was feeling better after recovering from the flu as an Ohio mental health facility rejected claims it had treated him.

His absence followed a remote appearance at a US Hispanic Business Council event on 30 September, when he reported a flu diagnosis at an urgent care clinic in Dallas. Conservative figures later circulated claims about his whereabouts and health.

Ohio Centre Responds to James Talarico Allegation

The Lindner Center of Hope in Mason, Ohio, issued a public denial after conservative media personality Nick Sortor and Rhein Amacher circulated an audio recording on Sunday purportedly involving an employee at the facility.

'Representative James Talarico has never received treatment from Lindner Center of Hope,' the statement read.

The woman in the recording appeared to suggest that someone named James Talarico had recently been discharged. She identified her location as the Mason facility and suggested she could not access more detailed information because the discharge was recent.

The Daily Wire reported that it had not independently verified her identity, employment or the claim in the recording. IBTimes UK cannot independently verify those details.

In an email to the publication, centre representative Jennifer Pierson outlined its approach to patient confidentiality. 'Lindner Center of Hope respects the privacy and confidentiality of all individuals,' she 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 centre provides mental health evaluations and treatment for children and adults through inpatient, outpatient and residential programmes.

James Talarico Describes Recovery at Home

'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 stated on Sunday.

During the NBC 5 interview, reporter Phil Prazan noted that Talarico had previously discussed his diabetes and questioned how severe the flu had been. He also queried whether Talarico had required bed rest or a doctor or hospital visit.

'I just went to my primary care physician, but it wasn't anything worse than a, you know, nasty case of the flu,' Talarico replied.

He described resting in bed, drinking liquids and continuing campaign work from home. He explained that he had avoided public events because he did not want to infect other people, and felt much better on his return.

Prazan also put the claim of a stress-related episode directly to him, identifying conservative social media figures and allies of Ken Paxton among those promoting it. Talarico rejected the allegation and cautioned against believing everything published online.

Debate Row Accompanies James Talarico Return

In Sunday's interview, Prazan also questioned him about Donald Trump's call for Talarico to debate Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Talarico supported the proposal, pointing to calls from Trump and Fox News for the candidates to meet.

Responding to Paxton's request for confirmation that he was alive, Talarico told Prazan, 'So, I know Ken Paxton has asked for proof of life for me. I'm asking for proof of spine from him.'

Talarico claimed the attorney general had not responded to a debate request in 85 days.