Talarico on ‘crazy’ conspiracy theories: ‘I learned … that I had died’

Texas Senate candidate James Talarico (D) on Wednesday responded to the “crazy” conspiracy theories that circulated during his time away from the campaign trail with the flu , saying he learned of one rumor “that I had died.”

CNN’s Erin Burnett asked Talarico about the theories during a town hall event , asking if the flu was the “only reason” he stepped away from campaigning. The Democrat laughed and said “yes,” later adding that his absence “sent my opponent [Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton] and his conspiracy theorists spiraling.”

“I opened up social media and learned that I apparently had dropped out of the race, had flown to a mental hospital in Ohio, that I had died,” he continued. “This is crazy. I mean, these false claims got millions of views online, and this is an example of what I call the rage economy.”

Talarico added that conspiracy theorists “can post anything they want on the internet. They get clicks. The billionaires who own these platforms get rich. We all get angry, and nobody’s life gets any better. Conspiracy theories don’t put food on the table.”

One of these unfounded rumors included that the Democratic candidate checked into a psychiatric facility in Ohio, with right-wing influencer Nick Sortor on Sunday accusing the candidate’s flu diagnosis of being a “ BIG FAT LIE .”

Talarico spokesperson J.T. Ennis wrote on social platform X that this was “a lie designed to promote a pathetic conspiracy theory.”

Late last month, the Senate candidate said he felt “kind of under the weather” before learning he had the flu, staying at his Austin, Texas, home while remotely tuning in to a U.S. Hispanic Business Council forum to talk to prospective voters on Sept. 30.

His absence on the campaign trail led Paxton and President Trump to question where the Democrat was . The Republican candidate launched attack ads against Talarico for his pause in campaigning.

“No one has seen him for an extended period of time,” Trump wrote on Truth Social last Wednesday. “Where is he? What is wrong with him? Bad rumors are coming out.”

The president continued, “He should immediately report to a Debate Stage against Ken Paxton, who is ready, willing, and able, one of the best Attorney Generals in the Country, and will soon be, hopefully, a United States Senator representing the Great People of Texas!”

But Talarico has accepted at least four debate invitations from CNN and local TV stations, The Texas Tribune reported . He challenged Paxton to a Fox News debate while speaking at the annual Texas Tribune Festival last month, and Burnett said CNN extended an invitation for the state attorney general to appear at Wednesday’s town hall.

The only debate scheduled for Texas candidates is in the race for railroad commissioner between Democrat Jon Rosenthal and Republican Bo French, a debate Rosenthal confirmed in late September. The forum has not been publicly confirmed by French, however, according to the Tribune.