Lubbock, Texas, saw two major political events on the same day as a sitting president visited the city for the first time in 34 years. Yet some of the longest lines, stretching for blocks on the city's east side, were for Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico rather than for President Donald Trump.
"We're all closet Democrats," said Dr. Tim Jones, 66, an emergency room physician, as he waited in line before Talarico's evening rally. He pointed to frustration over gas and diesel prices, inflation, the war and corruption, including the tearing down of part of the White House to build a ballroom. "So people finally are deciding, 'We'll get out to vote,'" he said.
Less than 3 miles away, Trump held a rally at the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center to support Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton, the state attorney general. In a new move, Trump brought out Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who drew one of the biggest rounds of applause of anyone Trump introduced. Rubio, who had avoided midterm rallies until Tuesday, kept his remarks short. "Our enemies are weaker. Our country is stronger, and our people are safer because Donald J. Trump is the president of the United States," he said.
The race has drawn hundreds of millions of dollars in spending and poses the biggest threat in years to the Republican grip on Texas. With a week until the election, Talarico holds a narrow polling lead. His visit to Republican territory suggests he is courting the crossover votes he needs to win.
At his rally, Talarico urged supporters to seize a once-in-a-generation chance to flip a statewide seat after three decades of Republican control. He criticized the economy, high gas prices and rural hospital closures, and repeatedly portrayed Paxton as corrupt and subservient to Trump. He also said Elon Musk, who has significant business interests in Texas, is trying to buy his own senator after putting more than $150 million into Paxton's candidacy. "We have an affordability crisis because we have a corruption crisis," Talarico said. His campaign said more than 4,000 people signed up to attend.
Trump described Talarico as an extremist who hates guns and meat and is out of touch with Texans, and mocked him as "Talafreako." He also referred to Talarico's absence from the campaign trail earlier this month, when the candidate said he had the flu, suggesting the cause was either a "mental problem" or an upset stomach from eating meat. "That's why we can't afford to lose to some freak," Trump said of Democrats. Talarico embraced the nickname, telling the crowd he had never seen so many "Talafreakos" in one room. "Lubbock is ready for change," he declared.
Republicans outnumber Democrats in Texas by a wide margin, but GOP strategists say they see a real contest at a time of national anger and dissatisfaction with Washington. Paxton has faced his own personal scandals, which have weighed on his numbers, and the state party is still dealing with infighting from a bitter primary in which Trump endorsed Paxton over Sen. John Cornyn, who had the backing of much of the party establishment.
Trump has visited Texas three times this month and held two rallies on Tuesday, starting in Corpus Christi. Paxton said Trump told him on the way to Lubbock that he does not normally do two rallies for any candidate. "He said, 'I must really like you,'" Paxton recalled. Rubio, who generally has higher approval ratings than others in the administration and is a possible 2028 presidential candidate, also spoke in Corpus Christi earlier in the day.
