James Talarico refutes Ohio health rumors, raises HIPAA questions

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico rejected social media claims that he received treatment at an Ohio mental health facility, saying he has never visited the state and pointing to a statement from the hospital that said he was never a patient there.

The allegations circulated on X following Talarico's absence from the campaign trail, which his campaign has attributed to a bout of the flu.

The rumors spread widely after conservative influencer Nick Sortor claimed on X that Talarico had received treatment at the Lindner Center of Hope. The post received more than 6.8 million views within a day.