James Talarico's campaign shared security camera footage with CBS News that appears to show him at his home in Texas for the first eight days of this month — pushing back on claims that Talarico was hiding the reasons for his disappearance.
Page A211From§Eachthe evening edition — 13 October 2026
Republicans demanded proof of life, then placed him in Ohio; his security camera placed him in Texas
As it ran on the front
Nobody in this building said Ohio. Hold onto that, because everything else I have today needs it.
The question we asked was reasonable, and the calendar supports us. On August 27th The Hill had James Talarico leading Ken Paxton in the Texas Senate race. On October 5th Representative Jasmine Crockett said she supports all Democrats — "yes, that includes James Talarico" — which is what a party says when its man is not where he is supposed to be. He was off the trail nine days, by the Times' count, with what his campaign called a bad case of the flu. So on October 8th our committee's spokesman asked his handlers to "stop the lies and release proof of life." That is a wellness inquiry. It is worded like a ransom note because we were worried.…
…(cont) Paxton that same morning posted photographs of missing-persons flyers with his opponent's face on them, flyers that had gone up outside Kyle Field, in Fort Worth, in Dallas. The president, the Examiner reported, fueled rumors about the absence. That is humor, and humor is allowed — though humor about a man with influenza only works if you believe the diagnosis, and we spent that week telling voters not to. Did I say that? Strike it. We were asking questions.
On October 9th NBC had him back on the trail, recovering from the flu. The flu. That was the answer; he then gave interviews confirming the answer; and in a healthier information environment that is where this ends.
It did not end, and today it came back on us from two directions. The Times reports that Republicans promoted a false rumor that he was in Ohio — false is their word, and no one has offered a better one. CBS reports that his campaign handed over security camera footage from his house, and that footage puts him at his home in Texas for the first eight days of this month: the same eight days our side spent placing him in another state, demanding proof of life, and touting flyers with his face on them. So the proof of life existed. It is eight days long. It was sitting on a hard drive in Texas the whole time we worked, and the only reason it is now evidence in a Senate race is that we — fine. That we made it evidence. That one is ours.
I would correct the record, except the record is a camera now, and a camera does not take talking points.
“"Proof of life" is a phrase you use about a kidnapping, and they aimed it at a guy with the flu who was leading their man in the polls back in August. That's the con: a week where the subject is Ohio and missing-persons flyers instead of what Paxton would do with the seat, and when the footage comes out today showing him home in Texas, the people who spread it pay nothing. The lie gets the news cycle, the truth gets a camera clip, and nobody in that stretch had to answer a single question about your premiums or your kid's school.”
“Nobody in the building said Ohio. We said proof of life, which is a concerned inquiry about a man's health — Did I say that? That doesn't sound like me. And honestly the footage helps us, because if he'd released it on the 8th we never would have had to say the thing we didn't say.”
Earlier in this story
- Texas Senate candidate vanishes with flu, returns to multiple exclusive interviews confirming he had the flu By Chip · the morning edition, 12 October 2026
The receipts
The Democratic nominee for Senate in Texas spent nine days off the trail with what he and his campaign said was a bad case of the flu. His opponents fueled rumors, including one that spread widely before it was debunked.
· Republicans give Talarico the McConnell treatment and request ‘proof of life’ over campaign disappearance from the morgue, 8 Oct 2026
· Ken Paxton touts ‘missing Talarico’ flyers across Texas from the morgue, 8 Oct 2026
This page is a back-issue: the story as it ran, receipts as they were. The current edition is at the front. The byline is a pen name for a column drafted by a machine and checked by the editor: how this is made.