Texas Senate race politics took centre stage in West Texas on Tuesday, October 27, as President Donald Trump and Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico held dueling rallies in Lubbock on the same night, one week before Election Day.
Trump was scheduled to speak at the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center at 6 p.m. Central Time, campaigning for Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton, the state’s attorney general. Less than three miles away, Talarico was scheduled to hold his own rally at the Fiesta Center in East Lubbock at 7 p.m., with doors opening at 6 p.m.
Trump also campaigned earlier on Tuesday in Corpus Christi, his fourth visit to Texas since Labor Day. Talarico had held a rally in Corpus Christi on October 24, underlining how both campaigns have focused on South Texas as well as the state’s traditional Republican strongholds.
Why the Texas Senate race matters nationally
The Texas Senate race is one of the most closely watched contests of the 2026 midterms because it could help decide control of the Senate. Republicans currently hold a 53-47 majority, counting two independents who caucus with Democrats. Democrats need a net gain of four seats to take control of the chamber.
A Talarico victory would flip a Republican-held Texas seat to the Democrats, moving them closer to a Senate majority and threatening the president’s legislative agenda and judicial confirmations for the final two years of his term. A Paxton victory would keep the seat in Republican hands and preserve the party’s current margin.
The stakes extend beyond the Senate. All 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives are also on the November 3 ballot, and Republicans hold a narrow majority there. The results in both chambers will determine which party controls Congress when the new session begins in January 2027.
A dead heat in a state Democrats have not won statewide since 1994
Texas has not elected a Democrat to statewide office since 1994, but this race is rated a dead heat, according to an average of recent polling compiled by Real Clear Politics. That competitiveness explains the extraordinary level of national attention — and spending — in the final days of the campaign.
Members of the Republican Bush political dynasty have sided with Talarico in their home state, according to USA Today, while Elon Musk, a key Trump ally, has supported Paxton with more than $150 million in a state that is central to his business empire. The race has been polarizing, with attack ads from both sides filling television and streaming services across Texas.
Trump has showered attention on Texas throughout the autumn. He attended the first midterm Republican convention in Dallas on September 9 and 10, visited a Peterbilt truck factory in Denton on October 1, and travelled to San Antonio on October 7. Tuesday’s doubleheader in Corpus Christi and Lubbock continues that push into the final week.
What happened in Lubbock on Tuesday
In Lubbock, preparations for the dueling events reshaped the downtown area for the day. Doors at the Civic Center opened at 2:30 p.m., with the programme beginning at 4:30 p.m. and Trump scheduled to speak at 6 p.m. Downtown streets around the venue were closed, and the Mahon Library, the Civic Center offices and the Silent Wings Museum were closed for the day, local reports said.
Talarico’s rally changed location a day before the event, moving from the Frazier Alumni Pavilion to the Fiesta Center at 1902 E. Fourth Street. His campaign said the move was needed to accommodate high interest and a large number of RSVPs, and transportation from the former location was arranged from 5 p.m.
A protest organised by the Lubbock County Democratic Party was also planned outside the Civic Center from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., according to a flyer circulating on social media. Local officials designated a protest area and urged attendees to allow extra time for security screening and traffic.
Early voting and the final week
Early voting in Texas ends on Friday, October 30, giving campaigns just a few more days to turn out supporters before Election Day on November 3. Both parties have invested heavily in turnout operations in South Texas, where statewide and congressional races have tightened, and in heavily Republican West Texas, where maximising the Republican vote is crucial for Paxton.
- Trump’s Lubbock rally: Civic Center, doors 2:30 p.m., remarks 6 p.m. Central.
- Talarico’s Lubbock rally: Fiesta Center, doors 6 p.m., programme 7 p.m. Central.
- Early voting ends: Friday, October 30.
- Election Day: Tuesday, November 3.
For voters in Lubbock, Tuesday offered a rare sight: both sides of one of America’s most important Senate races, in the same city, on the same night, making their final case before the polls close.
What to watch next
In the final week, expect both campaigns to focus relentlessly on turnout. Polls may be close, but in a midterm election the side that gets its supporters to the polls — during early voting and on Election Day itself — often wins. Fundraising, advertising and surrogate visits will intensify, and national figures from both parties are likely to return to Texas before November 3.
Whatever the outcome, the Texas Senate race has already reshaped assumptions about the state’s politics. A close result, in either direction, will be read nationally as a signal of where the country stands heading into the final two years of the Trump presidency — and as a preview of the battles to come in 2028.
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