Trump and Talarico Hold Dueling Rallies a Few Miles Apart in Lubbock. Here Is What Each Side Said
Thousands packed the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center for President Trump and Ken Paxton while James Talarico drew an overflow crowd across town. A look at both rallies in the Republican heartland.
For one night, Lubbock was the center of Texas politics.
President Donald Trump rallied Republicans at the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center on Tuesday evening, while Democrat James Talarico held his own rally a few miles away at the Fiesta Center. Both hoped to drive voters to the polls in the final days of early voting, which ends Friday, Oct. 30. Election Day is Nov. 3.
Trump flew in from Corpus Christi, where he had held a rally at the port earlier in the day. Air Force One's landing in Lubbock marked the third time a sitting president has campaigned on the South Plains in the past 50 years, KCBD reported.
Why Lubbock
Lubbock has long been a Republican stronghold, part of the West Texas "firewall" that has kept the GOP in power statewide, The Texas Tribune reported. Talarico has held a small but steady lead over Republican Ken Paxton in most public polls this fall, according to the Tribune, and Democrats need to cut into Republican margins in places like Lubbock to win statewide.
"Democrats right now are very motivated to go out and vote," said Drew Landry, a political science professor at South Plains College in Levelland. "So how can you stem that tide? You get the creator of the MAGA movement to come to MAGA country."
Ken Adams, chairman of the Lubbock County Republican Party, called the visit a reward for West Texas Republicans. "It's almost like the Super Bowl," he said. Kim Gonzalez, secretary of the Lubbock County Democratic Party, saw it differently. "It feels like the Republicans are running scared," she said.
Inside the Civic Center
Early estimates showed about 15,000 people around the Civic Center, and just over 5,000 got inside, KCBD reported. One man said he had arrived at 5:30 the evening before.
Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows, a Lubbock native, said about 45,000 Republican voters in Lubbock County had not yet voted. "If Lubbock doesn't vote, if Amarillo doesn't vote, if all the other great cities and counties do not vote, Travis County gets to decide what our state is all about," he told the crowd, according to the Tribune. Cody Campbell urged the crowd to vote for Republican candidates even if they don't like them, and outgoing U.S. Rep. Jodey Arrington called it a consequential election.
Trump spoke for more than an hour. He asked supporters to vote Republican up and down the ballot and to act as if he were on the ballot. "It's very close, and they can turn things down," he said. "I'll be vetoing like crazy, okay? But I'd rather work on the positive side as opposed to the negative side."
He repeated attacks on Talarico, claiming that Talarico and Democrats would repeal the Second Amendment and that millions more people would come across the southern border. "You cannot have a guy like Talafreako, because he's not even Christian," Trump said, according to the Tribune.
Paxton then took the stage. "You are the most Republican area of our state," he said. "And so I'm going to ask you, for the next seven days, get every Republican out to vote, and we will win Texas. God bless you."
Across town at the Fiesta Center
Talarico's campaign said 4,000 people registered for his rally and about 500 volunteered, KCBD reported. The crowd did not fit inside, and speakers were set up outside for hundreds more. Talarico took the stage around 8:30 p.m., shortly after Trump finished, the Tribune reported. Some supporters wore "Talafreako" shirts, turning the president's nickname into a badge.
Talarico focused on working people and the cost of living. He said Paxton takes corporate PAC money and serves wealthy donors. "This election is about whether you want a senator who puts money in your pocket or who puts money in their own," he said. He also said of Republicans, "They are scared, they are terrified. They see what we see, that we're about to win this election."
Victor Leal, a former Muleshoe mayor and owner of Leal's Restaurants who ran for state Senate as a Republican in 2018, is among the Republicans backing Talarico. "I think what James brings to the table is that he truly does want to work across the aisle," Leal said.
Voices outside
Protesters gathered near Tornado Memorial Park outside the Civic Center. Lubbock resident Loretta Davis said that after Trump's speech she was even more motivated to vote. "I'm so happy with all the things that he's done and everything that he's doing," she said, "especially closing the border."
Weigh more than the noise
Rallies are built for applause lines, and both sides delivered them. Name-calling, though, is not an argument. Only God sees a man's heart, and voters can judge each candidate by his record, his words and his plans for the border, the economy, guns and life.
Neither campaign's claims about the other were fact-checked in the reports cited here. Do your own homework, pray, and vote before Friday or on Nov. 3.
