Paxton and Talarico Make Final West Texas Push Before Election Day

Republican President Donald Trump and Democrat James Talarico both spoke in Lubbock on Tuesday, with Talarico taking the stage about an hour after Trump finished. The two are competing for Texas votes in the Senate race that will be decided on Tuesday, Nov. 4.

Talarico, a seminarian and former teacher, told the Lubbock crowd he sees a "corruption crisis" in American politics. "We're going to shock the nation and shock the world when we beat the billionaires and take back Texas," he said. He has also started naming Elon Musk on the campaign trail, saying of Musk, "He is trying to buy Texas. Texas is not for sale."

Trump, who spoke earlier in Corpus Christi before arriving in Lubbock, pushed back on Talarico's candidacy. "He doesn't represent your values, and we can't take a chance," Trump said. Trump also called Ken Paxton a "good man." Trump won Lubbock County by 40 points in 2024, and won most other West Texas counties by larger margins.

Musk, who runs Tesla and SpaceX from Texas, has put at least $158 million into efforts to defeat Talarico. That money went to the Senate Leadership Fund, which then gave the same amount to the Texas PAC, the biggest contributor to Paxton's campaign. Musk wrote on X, where he has 241 million followers, that "Talarico is lunatic left." AdImpact, an ad tracking firm, reports that more than $563 million has been spent on advertising in the race since the primary.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio appeared with Trump in Corpus Christi and Lubbock. A State Department official said Rubio traveled with Trump in his role as national security adviser, not as secretary of state. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss travel plans, said Rubio "needs time with the president on all kinds of issues." Rubio served briefly in both Texas cities.

In the governor's race, Democrat Gina Hinojosa sued to review communications between Musk and Governor Greg Abbott. On Monday, a judge ruled that Hinojosa, as a state representative, must be given more than 1,000 unredacted pages to review by Thursday.

The midterm elections take place Tuesday, Nov. 4.