James Talarico faces off against Trump in dueling Texas rallies in election’s final days

Democrat James Talarico and President Donald Trump staged competing rallies in Lubbock, Texas, on Tuesday night, a week before an election that could threaten Republican dominance of a statewide seat the party has held for three decades. Trump appeared to support Republican nominee Ken Paxton, the state attorney general, while Talarico drew long lines of supporters; his campaign says more than 4,000 people signed up. NBC News reports that Talarico holds a narrow polling edge and went to Republican territory to court crossover voters. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent on the race.

Talarico portrayed Paxton as corrupt and subservient to Trump, and said Elon Musk, who has put more than $150 million behind Paxton, is trying to buy a senator. Trump described Talarico as an extremist who opposes gun rights and called him "Talafreako," a label Talarico happily adopted before his crowd. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, making his first midterm rally appearance, spoke briefly and drew some of the loudest applause.

Republican strategists regard the contest as competitive amid public anger at Washington. Paxton's personal scandals have hurt his numbers, and the party remains divided after a bitter primary in which Trump backed Paxton over Sen.

Summarized by PolitiKool from NBC News’s reporting. Read the full story at NBC News →