Security Images Aim to Explain Texas Candidate’s Campaign Absence
Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico faced growing questions after he disappeared from public events for nearly two weeks. His campaign has now released home security images that appear to show him at his house in Austin during the first eight days of the month.
Talarico said he had a serious case of the flu and needed time to recover. His absence led to criticism from Republican opponent Ken Paxton, along with online rumors about where Talarico had gone and why he was not appearing in public.
Images Show Candidate at His Austin Home
The campaign shared eight time-stamped security images. The pictures appear to show Talarico in the backyard of his home at different times of day. He is shown wearing several different outfits, and the images include a watermark from a home security system.
The pictures are not clear, but they show a man with brown hair who appears to be Talarico. Features visible in the backyard were compared with recent satellite images of the property, and they appeared to match.
The images show Talarico at home during the period when he was not appearing at public campaign events. He was seen in public again the day after the final image was taken.
A mental health facility in Mason, Ohio, also rejected online claims about Talarico. The facility said he had never received treatment there.
Talarico campaign spokesman J.T. Ennis called the rumors false. He said the claims were part of an effort to promote a conspiracy theory and insisted that Talarico had been in Austin recovering from the flu.
How the Absence Began
Talarico’s last known in-person campaign event in Texas took place in the Dallas suburb of Carrollton. Two days later, he traveled to New York City for several fundraisers. One event was held with Ohio Democratic Senate candidate Sherrod Brown and actor Robert De Niro.
After that, Talarico canceled an in-person discussion with Javier Palomarez, the president of a national Hispanic business group. He joined the conversation through video instead.
During the online event, Talarico apologized for not attending in person. He said he had started feeling sick, then visited an urgent care clinic in Dallas after his condition became worse. He said he had a fever and was likely at his most contagious. He later said he had visited his regular doctor instead.
The campaign then canceled Talarico’s scheduled appearance at a Central Texas civic engagement event. Organizers said his staff also canceled other events and did not agree to reschedule the appearance.
Political Attacks Increase
As Talarico remained out of public view, President Trump traveled to San Antonio to campaign with Paxton. Both men mentioned Talarico’s absence during the event.
Trump suggested that Talarico was sick because of his past comments about eating less meat. Talarico has denied being vegan.
Paxton told the crowd that Talarico had been missing from public life for many days and had canceled his appearances. He asked where Talarico had been taken and encouraged the audience to repeat the question, “Where Is James Talarico?”
Paxton later said Talarico owed Texas voters an explanation. He questioned whether a case of the flu could explain the entire absence.
Talarico Returns to Public Events
Talarico made his first public appearance of the month at a music festival in Austin. A campaign video showed him greeting people at the event.
He later said he was feeling much better and had returned to campaigning. Over the next few days, he attended a Kacey Musgraves concert in San Antonio and spoke with a television station in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. He also took part in a meeting with a newspaper editorial board.
In one interview, Talarico said his illness was nothing more serious than a bad case of the flu. He said he spent his time in bed, drank plenty of fluids and tried to avoid spreading the illness to other people.
He also said the campaign continued giving him work while he was recovering at home, which meant he did not receive complete days off.
Unverified Mental Health Rumors
While Talarico was away from public events, social media users began spreading an unsupported claim that he had traveled to Ohio for mental health treatment.
People online also shared an unverified recording of a phone call to the Ohio facility. In the recording, a person appeared to ask whether Talarico had been treated there. A staff member seemed to say that he had already been released.
The recording could not be confirmed. The facility later said clearly that Talarico had not received treatment there.
Talarico denied the claim and warned people not to believe everything they see online. The newly released security images are intended to support his explanation that he stayed at home in Austin while recovering from the flu.