James Talarico Didn't Go to Ohio: Anatomy of a Fake Scandal (ft. Gwen Howerton)
“Where is James Talarico?” second-rate conservative activists and Nazi enthusiasts asked when the Democratic Texas Senate candidate took a short break from the campaign trail in October. Their uncoordinated right-wing rumors ultimately coalesced to a conspiracy theory claiming that James Talarico had checked into an Ohio mental health facility ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
In reality, James Talarico was at home in Texas. He had the flu. Even a conservative news publisher criticized the conspiracy theory, calling it “sloppy.”
This week, Houston-based Chron.com Texas culture reporter…
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