Talarico Draws 4,000 in Lubbock While Trump Rallies for Paxton

Lubbock, Texas, has been reliably red for decades, but on Tuesday, long lines formed on the east side of the city for a Democratic candidate rather than the visiting president. More than 4,000 people signed up to attend James Talarico’s evening rally, according to his campaign. The crowd waited for hours in a city with fewer than 300,000 residents.

Dr. Tim Jones, a 66-year-old emergency room physician, stood in line with other supporters. He described the group as closet Democrats frustrated by gas prices, inflation, and what he called the corruption of tearing down part of the White House to build a ballroom. Jones said people are finally deciding to get out and vote.

Less than three miles away, President Donald Trump held a rally at the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center to boost Ken Paxton, the state Attorney General and Republican Senate candidate. Trump introduced Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, who won one of the largest rounds of applause of the event. Rubio had stayed clear of midterm campaign rallies until Tuesday. He took the microphone and kept his remarks brief.

“Our enemies are weaker. Our country is stronger, and our people are safer because Donald J. Trump is the president of the United States,” Rubio said. Trump called Talarico an anti-gun extremist and said he and Paxton are the only things standing between Talarico and the Senate seat. He also referred to Talarico derisively as “Talafreako,” referencing the candidate’s earlier absence from the campaign trail due to the flu.

Talarico has held a narrow lead in polling with just a week until the election. His campaign argues that he is trying to win Republican crossover votes in a race that has drawn hundreds of millions of dollars in spending. At his rally, Talarico cast Paxton as corrupt and a Trump sycophant. He mentioned Elon Musk, who has thrown more than $150 million into Paxton’s candidacy, saying the billionaire is trying to buy his own personal senator.

“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. He told the crowd that they are running against the embodiment of a corrupt system and the most corrupt politician in Texas.

Paxton leaned on Trump’s presence to energize his base. He told the crowd that he spent the day with Trump, starting with a stop in Corpus Christi. Paxton said Trump told him he does not normally do two rallies for any candidate and that he must really like Paxton. Paxton replied that he really likes the president too.

Republican strategists view the contest as a real fight as Americans feel anger toward Washington. Paxton has battled personal scandals that create a drag on his numbers, and Texas Republicans are still dealing with infighting after a primary where Trump endorsed Paxton over Sen. John Cornyn. Talarico ended his speech by declaring that Lubbock is ready for change and that the city is about to win the election.