Trump and Talarico hold rallies three miles apart in close Texas Senate race

AdImpact reports campaign spending above $500 million

President Trump and Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico held competing rallies three miles apart in Lubbock, Texas, on Tuesday night. Trump rallied for Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton, while Talarico held his event nearby. Trump and Talarico were each making a final push for voter support one week before the midterm elections. Thousands lined up to see Trump deliver a stump speech, his second Texas rally of the day, at the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center. Talarico supporters formed a line that snaked back and forth through seven neighborhood blocks, and thousands were turned away from Talarico’s venue because of capacity limitations. More than an hour later, Talarico took the stage and said, “I know that we are not the only show in town tonight.”

Trump said of Talarico, “The other guy doesn’t deserve it, he doesn’t represent your values,” predicting that if Talarico won: “You go off meat, you go off oil, and you let millions and millions of people flow through the border and your second amendment will be destroyed.”

Talarico called Paxton the most corrupt politician in Texas, citing Paxton’s jump in net worth and various controversies. “We are running against the embodiment of this corrupt system,” Talarico said onstage. He added, “This is the rot at the core of this broken system. It is why so many Texans can’t get ahead, no matter how hard they work.”

At his rally, Talarico took aim at billionaires, especially Elon Musk, who has poured millions into the race on Paxton’s behalf. He compared his campaign to David facing Goliath and called it “a battle between the powers that be and the powers that ought to be.” Attendees, many of them students from the nearby Texas Tech University, booed at the mentions of Trump across town, Paxton and Musk.

Dani Leal, a 19-year-old university sophomore, was attending her first political rally before casting her first vote. “I’m very hopeful because it’s never been this blue before,” she said of the political mood. “Part of this gives us hope.”

At Trump’s rally, several attendees said they were there to see their favorite president, while a couple said they wanted to show support for Paxton and other Texas Republican candidates. Terrence Pratt, a local municipal worker attending his second Trump rally, said he is confident that West Texas remains as deep red as ever, saying, “We’re not going to jeopardize conservative values.” But he is a bit worried about Paxton’s ability to generate enthusiasm and about high gas and grocery prices affecting Republican votes.

Paxton and Talarico are competing for the seat held by Republican Sen. John Cornyn. The Wall Street Journal reported that Talarico had consistently maintained a narrow lead in the polls. AdImpact reported that advertising and campaign spending had surpassed $500 million. The Wall Street Journal said the contest was on track to become the most expensive Senate contest in history.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Talarico was drawing large crowds in a county where 70% of voters had backed Trump in 2024 and that Republican candidates were working to turn out their voters. Texas, which hasn’t elected a Democrat to statewide office in three decades, has become a focus of Republican efforts to limit losses in the midterm elections. Republicans held an unprecedented midterm election convention in Dallas this summer. The Lubbock event was Trump’s third recent rally in the Lone Star state, and he had held a rally in Corpus Christi earlier in the day. The Republican National Committee said he might return before Tuesday’s midterms.

Some Republicans say the president is to blame for making a competitive Senate race even harder for the GOP by endorsing Paxton over incumbent Cornyn. Paxton, the state’s attorney general, has faced personal and political scandals in recent years. Trump’s endorsement of Paxton drew criticism from some non-MAGA Republicans and national GOP groups. Earlier this month, Trump said he planned to blame a potential Republican Senate loss on Cornyn and GOP strategist Karl Rove, who have refused to support Paxton.

At rallies, Trump has complained about Paxton’s appearance and low-key speaking style. On Tuesday, he told reporters that he thinks Paxton would do “very well” but added, “You never know, it’s politics.”

The Wall Street Journal reported that Talarico, a 37-year-old Presbyterian seminarian and member of the Texas House of Representatives, had captured national attention by positioning himself as a Democrat capable of winning over moderate and disaffected Republican voters who were uncomfortable with Paxton or disappointed by Trump’s endorsement of Paxton over Cornyn. Some of his earlier statements differ from the positions he now states. Trump, who derisively calls him “Talafreako,” has sought to portray him as a far-left candidate who opposes guns and the oil industry and supports gender-transition surgery for children. Talarico has said he supports the Second Amendment and “common sense gun safety laws,” supports the oil industry and would support a ban on gender surgery for minors.

At an earlier stop in Corpus Christi, Trump vowed to reduce energy prices that have surged since he launched the war with Iran nearly eight months ago. Pointing to an oil tanker arriving from Venezuela, Trump touted an energy deal with the country’s interim president, said the crude would be refined in Texas and floated making Venezuela a 51st state. “Gasoline and diesel prices will soon come down. They’ll come plummeting down for the consumer,” Trump said, a line he has repeated at his rallies.

The Texas stops are part of the president’s multistate rally blitz. Trump’s advisers say the rallies garner local media attention, encourage Trump’s MAGA base to head to the polls and have made a positive impact on early voting, which started in Texas last week. More than 4.2 million Texans cast a ballot in the first seven days of early voting. Paxton and Talarico have been crisscrossing the state during its second week of early voting.

Talarico has held some events on youth football fields as part of a Friday Night Lights-themed “Clear Eyes, Full Hearts” tour; the popular television show’s slogan ends with “can’t lose.” Paxton, whose “Come and Take It” tour pays homage to the 1835 Battle of Gonzales during the Texas Revolution, plans to end his tour at the Alamo.

Sany Dash, a Trump merchandise seller who has worked at least 250 of the president’s rallies, said she was having one of her better nights selling items including bedazzled Trump jackets and Trump-haired rubber ducks. Dash was calling out “Free Paxton pin with every purchase!,” but some customers, she said, weren’t taking her up on the offer. “That’s why he’s here,” she said of Trump and the lack of Paxton enthusiasm. “The race should never be this close. Trump has had to come down here because he’s got to help this guy out.”