Trump and Talarico Offer Texas Split Screen With Dueling Rallies Just Miles Apart

The president and the Democratic Senate hopeful held their rallies as they battled for a Senate seat now held by a Republican.

LUBBOCK, Texas — The road to a Senate majority ran through the wide open plains of West Texas on Tuesday night, where President Trump rallied in support of Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton, and his Democratic opponent James Talarico held an event just 3 miles away.

President Trump at the rally in Lubbock, Texas, to support Ken Paxton, and James Talarico at a rally nearby supporting his run for Senate.

Both were making their final push to win voter support just one week out from the midterm elections.

Thousands lined up for the chance to see the president deliver a stump speech, his second Texas rally of the day. Not far away, Talarico supporters thronged in a line that snaked back and forth through seven neighborhood blocks.

In the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center, Trump took aim at Talarico.

“The other guy doesn’t deserve it, he doesn’t represent your values,” said Trump, 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.”

More than an hour later, down the road, in a venue from which thousands were turned away because of capacity limitations, Talarico took the stage noting: “I know that we are not the only show in town tonight.”

“We are running against the embodiment of this corrupt system,” Talarico said onstage, calling Paxton the most corrupt politician in Texas. He cited Paxton’s jump in net worth and various controversies before adding: “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.”

The dueling rallies underscore just how tight the Senate race is in Texas, where Paxton and Talarico are battling for the seat held by Republican Sen. John Cornyn. Talarico has consistently maintained a narrow lead in the polls, but massive amounts of money have poured into the race, which is on track to become the most expensive Senate contest in history, with advertising and campaign spending surpassing $500 million, according to AdImpact.

It also illustrated a race in which the ticket’s top Democrat is drawing huge crowds in a deeply red county where 70% of voters backed Trump in 2024, and GOP candidates are having to work hard to turn out their voters.

Texas, which hasn’t elected a Democrat to statewide office in three decades, has become ground zero for Republican efforts to limit losses in the midterm elections. Republicans held an unprecedented midterm election convention in Dallas this summer, and this was Trump’s third recent rally in the Lone Star state and he may return before Tuesday’s midterms, according to the Republican National Committee. He held a rally in Corpus Christi earlier in the day.

Some Republicans say the president is to blame for making a competitive Senate race even harder for the GOP by endorsing Paxton, the state’s attorney general, who has faced personal and political scandals in recent years, over incumbent Cornyn.

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.

Trump hasn’t always been helpful to Paxton, either. At rallies, Trump has complained about his appearance and low-key speaking style. On Tuesday he told reporters that he thinks Paxton will do “very well” but added, “You never know, it’s politics.”

Talarico, a 37-year-old Presbyterian seminarian and member of the Texas House of Representatives, has captured national attention by positioning himself as a Democrat capable of winning over moderate and disaffected Republican voters who are uncomfortable with Paxton or disappointed by Trump’s abandonment of Cornyn.

Talarico has at times struggled to distance himself from his previous statements. 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.

Talarico rally attendees, many of them students from the nearby Texas Tech University, booed at the mentions of Trump across town, of Paxton and of the millions Elon Musk has poured into the race on his behalf.

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.

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.”

Write to Elizabeth Findell at elizabeth.findell@wsj.com and Meridith McGraw at Meridith.McGraw@WSJ.com