LUBBOCK, Texas — Democratic Senate hopeful James Talarico used a Tuesday rally here to hammer home a "corruption crisis" he says is rotting American politics, going head-to-head with President Trump for attention in this deeply conservative corner of West Texas just days before the midterm elections.
Trump's visit marked his third stop in Texas in a month, part of an aggressive closing argument for Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is seeking to keep the state's Senate seat in GOP hands and stave off what would be Democrats' first statewide win in over three decades.
Talarico, a former teacher and seminary student, took the stage in Lubbock an hour after Trump wrapped up his own event across town. He leaned on biblical references and the state's beloved Friday night football culture to frame himself as the underdog taking on a coalition of Trump and tech titan Elon Musk, who has poured tens of millions into attack ads against the Democrat on Paxton's behalf.
"We're going to shock the nation and shock the world when we beat the billionaires and take back Texas," Talarico declared to the crowd.
Earlier, Trump had painted Talarico as out of step with Texas values, warning supporters, "He doesn't represent your values, and we can't take a chance." The president's visit is aimed at energizing the GOP base in a state where he carried Lubbock County by 40 points in 2024 and won most of West Texas by even larger margins. Trump also made a stop in Corpus Christi, where he highlighted a deal with Venezuela to process more of its crude oil in Texas refineries, a move intended to deflect attention from rising gas prices linked to the U.S.-Israel conflict in Iran.
The president is in the final week of his last midterm cycle, barnstorming GOP strongholds where Democrats have become unexpectedly competitive. Beyond Texas, he has rallied in Mississippi, Michigan, Georgia, Florida, and Iowa, with upcoming stops in Ohio, South Carolina, Florida, Kansas, and Iowa again — all states he won in 2024. The marathon is a bet that despite his overall unpopularity, Trump can still mobilize the most loyal Republican voters, a bloc whose turnout could decide the elections.
Nowhere is that strategy facing a sterner test than in Texas, where Talarico has seized on Paxton's long record of ethical and legal troubles and a difficult national environment for Republicans. Trump insists Paxton is a "good man," and Musk has joined the fray, calling Talarico "lunatic left" on his social platform X to his 241 million followers.
Musk, who has relocated Tesla, SpaceX, and himself to Texas, is so determined to keep the state red that he has funneled at least $158 million into the Senate Leadership Fund, which then passed the money to the Texas PAC, the largest backer of Paxton's campaign. That influx has made this one of the most expensive races in the country, with over $563 million spent on advertising between the primary and the general election, according to AdImpact.
For Talarico, the billionaire's cash is both a threat and a gift. At every stop, he argues that the wealthy have corrupted politics and fueled the affordability crisis. He now name-checks Musk on the stump, while Paxton rarely mentions him. "He is trying to buy Texas," Talarico says. "Texas is not for sale."
The theme echoes the parallel governor's race, where Democrat Gina Hinojosa is challenging incumbent Greg Abbott. Hinojosa has sued to force disclosure of communications between Abbott and Musk, arguing they reveal an undue closeness with the ultra-wealthy. A judge ruled Monday that Hinojosa, as a state representative, must be allowed to review more than 1,000 unredacted pages by Thursday.
Trump's travels also preview the GOP's 2028 scramble. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who doubles as national security adviser, joined the president for the first time on the road. A State Department official, speaking anonymously, said Rubio is traveling in his national security capacity to get "time with the president on all kinds of issues." Rubio, a 2016 presidential candidate and a potential 2028 contender, made brief appearances in Corpus Christi and Lubbock, offering only short remarks of praise for Trump before stepping aside.
As the campaign enters its final days, Talarico's team hopes the contrast with Trump and Musk will resonate. "This is about who owns Texas," he said. "And it's not the billionaires."
