LUBBOCK, Texas – One week before Election Day, President Donald Trump made two campaign stops in Texas on Tuesday, Oct. 27, to boost Republican U.S. Senate nominee Ken Paxton. Democratic nominee James Talarico answered with a competing rally across town in Lubbock the same night.

Two Trump stops in one day

Trump first held a midterm rally at the Port of Corpus Christi, where he promoted Republican candidates and highlighted Venezuelan oil arriving for Texas refineries. He then flew to Lubbock on Air Force One and spoke for more than an hour at the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center.

Fox News posted video of Air Force One arriving in Lubbock before the rally.

First estimates showed about 15,000 people around the Civic Center, with just over 5,000 getting inside, according to KCBD in Lubbock. Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows, a Lubbock native, urged Republicans to turn out and said about 45,000 Republican voters in Lubbock County had not yet cast a ballot.

Trump asked supporters to vote for Republicans up and down the ballot. He repeated familiar attacks on Talarico, claiming Democrats would repeal the Second Amendment, and called him “Talafreako.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio was among the officials Trump thanked during the trip.

Paxton joined Trump on stage. “You are the most Republican area of our state,” Paxton told the crowd, asking supporters to get every Republican out to vote over the next seven days.

Talarico holds his own Lubbock rally

Talarico, a state representative, spent the day campaigning across West Texas with stops in Midland and Amarillo before his rally at Lubbock’s Fiesta Center. His campaign said more than 4,000 people signed up, and it moved the event to fit the crowd. Speakers were set up outside for people who could not get in.

Talarico took the stage shortly after Trump finished. He focused on the cost of housing, groceries and health care and accused Paxton of taking corporate PAC money and serving wealthy donors. “I have a legislative record. Ken Paxton has a criminal record,” Talarico said. Paxton’s 2015 securities fraud case was resolved in 2024 through a pretrial agreement without a conviction.

Talarico also embraced Trump’s nickname for him. “That’s a lot of Talafreakos in one room,” he told supporters.

Where the race stands

Public polls this fall have shown Talarico with a small but steady lead over Paxton, according to The Texas Tribune. Lubbock has long been a Republican stronghold, and both campaigns are pushing to drive turnout in the final week.

Early voting in Texas ends Friday, Oct. 30, and Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3, with polls open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. In Maverick County, early voting continues through Friday at the Multi-Purpose Center, 480 S. Adams St.

Read our earlier coverage: Val Verde County Sheriff Says He Did Not Endorse Governor Abbott