President Donald Trump and Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico held dueling rallies in Lubbock, Texas, on October 27, 2026, exactly one week before a high-stakes midterm election that has put national focus on the state’s tight U.S. Senate race.
A poll released by Univision and conducted by YouGov gave Talarico a lead of 50 percent to 45 percent as President Donald Trump and Democrat James Talarico descended on Lubbock for competing events. Trump traveled to the state for the third time in a month to anchor a final-push defense of Republican strongholds, backing Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in his bid for the U.S. Senate, according to Associated Press reporting. Across town, Talarico drew supporters to the Fiesta Center just an hour after the presidential motorcade departed, pitching an underdog campaign against national figures.
Dueling Rallies in Lubbock Show Tight Texas Polling
Other tracking figures have portrayed an even tighter race, with an Emerson College and Nexstar survey placing Talarico ahead of Paxton either within the margin of error — making it a statistical tie— or just outside the margin. The split-screen events captured the unusual intensity of a midterm cycle where Democrats are fighting to secure their first statewide election win in the Lone Star State in nearly four decades. Recent public opinion surveys show a narrow contest.
President Trump: "I would pick Ted Cruz to be the next Supreme Court Justice." pic.twitter.com/DypAPO675k
Lubbock County voted heavily Republican in past presidential cycles, providing the sort of rural and small-metro conservative firewall designed to offset Democratic gains in major urban centers. Yet even within this stronghold, opposition remains energized.
Earlier in the day, Talarico stopped in Midland and Amarillo to campaign before headlining his evening event in Lubbock. Meanwhile, Cody Campbell, chairman of the Texas Tech University System Board of Regents, addressed the crowds at Trump’s rally at the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center, praising the region. Vice President JD Vance was also scheduled to visit Texas for a separate campaign stop later in the week.
Talarico in Lubbock Texas: I know we are not the only show in town tonight and I appreciate all 4000 of you that showed up this evening. That is a lot of tala-freako's in one room pic.twitter.com/7SRuPR5A4q
Billionaire Spending Enters the Senate Race
Elon Musk has joined Trump’s effort to stop Talarico’s advance, using his social media platform to criticize the Democratic challenger as “lunatic left.”
We’re going to shock the nation and shock the world when we beat the billionaires and take back Texas.
James Talarico, Democratic U.S. Senate candidate
Secretary of State Marco Rubio also joined the presidential trip, making his first road appearance alongside Trump as national security adviser to preview potential 2028 political contests. Trump used his stops in Corpus Christi and Lubbock to tie national economic policy directly to the Senate outcome, highlighting an arrangement to process Venezuelan crude oil in Texas refineries and promising relief on energy costs. Cabinet officials and Republican leaders have also flooded the state, with Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows warning local voters at the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center that low turnout in West Texas risk handing electoral control to Austin liberals, as reported by the Texas Tribune.
Friction Emerges on the Right
During the Lubbock rally, the president offered a blunt assessment of his own candidate’s appearance, contrasting Paxton with Ohio Senator Jon Husted and suggesting Paxton’s physical appearance and style fell short of conventional standards, even while praising his loyalty as attorney general. Trump’s campaign swing brought distinct friction alongside standard stump-speech appeals.
Talarico leaned into that history during his own rally, telling supporters that voters across the political spectrum are exhausted by political division and looking for a change in direction. Paxton has faced persistent scrutiny over past legal and ethical challenges, including an impeachment vote by the Texas House in 2023 that included support from members of both parties before his subsequent acquittal by the Texas Senate.
Early voting in Texas concludes on Friday, October 30, with general election day scheduled for Tuesday, November 3.
In a Texas rally, President Trump said the Democratic U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico "stated that he wants to dismantle Texas oil and gas and capitalism itself. He wants to take it apart, and he personally wrote the Texas version of the green new scam.”Trump’s comments…