President Donald Trump held two campaign stops in Texas on Tuesday, Oct. 27, one week before Election Day, to support Republican U.S. Senate nominee Ken Paxton. Trump first spoke at a midterm rally at the Port of Corpus Christi, where he promoted Republican candidates and pointed to Venezuelan oil arriving for Texas refineries. He then spoke for more than an hour at the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center.
KCBD in Lubbock reported first estimates of about 15,000 people around the Civic Center, with just over 5,000 getting inside. Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows, a Lubbock native, said about 45,000 Republican voters in Lubbock County had not yet voted. Trump asked supporters to back Republicans across the ballot. He also criticized Democratic nominee James Talarico, claiming Democrats would repeal the Second Amendment. Paxton joined Trump on stage and urged supporters to get Republicans to the polls in the final seven days.
Talarico, a state representative, campaigned across West Texas the same day, with stops in Midland and Amarillo. He then held a rally at the Fiesta Center in Lubbock. His campaign said more than 4,000 people signed up, and the event was moved to a larger space to fit the crowd. Speakers were set up outside for people who could not get in.