Talarico rallies against corruption as Trump stages partisan show of force in Lubbock ahead of Texas vote
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In Lubbock, Texas, Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico and President Donald Trump held competing rallies on the same day, underscoring a bitterly polarized Senate race in a city that remains a Republican stronghold but is seeing intense voter energy.
Lubbock, Texas — On the same evening that President Donald Trump addressed a crowd at the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center, Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico held a rally on the city’s east side, drawing thousands of attendees. The dueling events laid bare the raw stakes of the Senate contest in a city of fewer than 300,000 residents, with just a week left before the election.
Talarico, who has a narrow lead in recent polls, cast the race as a fight against an “affordability crisis” that he said is rooted in corruption and influence-peddling. He blasted Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, calling him “the most corrupt politician in Texas,” and accused tech billionaire Elon Musk of trying to sway the race with money in support of Paxton.
“We have an affordability crisis because we have a corruption crisis. But we can change that in this election, in this state, in this race,” Talarico said.
“We are running against the embodiment of this corrupt system,” he added.
President Trump, joined by former Secretary of State Marco Rubio, used his appearance to rally support for Paxton’s campaign. He labeled Talarico an “anti-gun extremist” and claimed Democrats were “bad people” who could endanger public safety.
“They’ve got a lot of bad people,” Trump said of Democrats.
Rubio, who has not previously taken part in midterm campaign events, delivered a brief statement backing Trump’s presidency.
“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.
Both rallies were marked by fierce partisan rhetoric and revealed the intensity of voter enthusiasm in a region long dominated by Republicans. The twin events highlighted the hard-fought nature of the Senate race, with Democrats trying to flip a statewide seat for the first time in three decades and Republicans determined to keep their long grip on Texas politics.