AP Photo/LM Otero A spokesperson for Texas Senate candidate James Talarico (D) raged at MAGA influencers Sunday for promoting the wild theory that instead of being off the campaign trail due to the flu, he was locked inside a mental hospital in Ohio. Talarico’s opponent, AG Ken Paxton (R-TX) began sewing the seeds of doubt about Talarico’s illness, which was blown up earlier in the day by MAGA influencer Nick Sortor. Sortor posted Sunday,  “Ohio mental hospital CONFIRMS James Talarico was discharged from the facility earlier this week The “flu” thing was a BIG FAT LIE.” Sortor continued: 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. 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. Sortor then posted alleged audio from the Lindner Center of Hope for “confirmation.” Talarico spokesperson JT Ennis responded to Sortor, posting, “This is a lie designed to promote a pathetic conspiracy theory. Last week James Talarico was home in Austin, Texas recovering from the flu.” This is a lie designed to promote a pathetic conspiracy theory. Last week James Talarico was home in Austin, Texas recovering from the flu. https://t.co/CsAUEBASQK — JT Ennis (@jt_ennis) October 11, 2026 In addition, Texas Tribune reporter Kayla Guo reported Friday, “A Type I diabetic, Talarico said Sept. 30 he was diagnosed with the flu. Ken Paxton has ripped him for his absence from the trail over the past few days and cast doubt on the flu diagnosis.” Regardless, MAGA went wild with Sortor’s post. DC Draino wrote, “Whoa. Talarico was caught being discharged from a mental hospital in Ohio. Eric Daugherty with @FLVoiceNews wrote, “HOLY CRAP! James Talarico BUSTED for being discharged from a MENTAL HOSPITAL in Ohio —@NickSortor/@RheinAmacher. He was at the Lindner Center of Hope. NO FLU!! EMPLOYEE: “He was just discharged.” Talarico is done. Drop out. He cannot be a United States senator! And he LIED this ENTIRE TIME. Is ANYONE surprised the guy who loves trans kids and drag queens has issues like this? The Senate is not a mental health rehab center! UNFIT FOR OFFICE. Ken Paxton will win.” Other MAGA reactions came from Laura Loomer and Turning Point USA’s Andrew Kolvet : If this is true, and I’m not seeing a denial from Talarico, 2 things are going to happen: 1. James Talarico is going to have to drop out of the Texas Senate race and @KenPaxtonTX is going to win if he uses this in every ad. 2. James Talarico @jamestalarico is going to become a… https://t.co/FxgcMFcnzw — Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) October 11, 2026 If this is true, it will evoke the memory of the Fetterman campaign. And it didn’t stop Fetterman from winning. However, Texans aren’t Pennsylvanians. Could be a game changer. https://t.co/OmNIb6vqES — Mike Gallagher (@MikeGallagher) October 11, 2026 MAGA critics hit back at Sortor, pointing out the serious HIPAA patient privacy violations that would be committed if a mental hospital released such information: URGENT RECORDING BELOW: Despite MAGA liars claiming that James Talarico was a patient at Lindner Center of Hope in Ohio, and allegedly recording an employee stating that he was, I just got off the phone with the Lindner Center and they have confirmed that the whole story is a… pic.twitter.com/imoYZ5NnzB — Brian Krassenstein (@krassenstein) October 11, 2026 sorry. i'm just catching up here. Doesn't this entire thing fall apart when you ask yourself: why wouldn't Talarico just go see a mental health professional in Texas? Or, better yet, have one come to him? What am i missing? — Sam Stein (@samstein) October 11, 2026 Confirming that a specific person is or was a patient at a facility without their explicit written consent is a major HIPAA violation. The facility can lose its license to operate. The staff member who leaked the information could face criminal charges under federal law, which… https://t.co/cm7tPWTjtj — 💙Brittney💙 (@AZ_Brittney) October 11, 2026 In related news, Talarico has a healthy lead on Paxton in most polls tracked by The New York Times. New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!