President Donald Trump and Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico took their contest to Texas on Tuesday, 27 October, staging rival events in Lubbock as the state's closely watched Senate race entered its final week.

Trump, campaigning for Republican nominee Ken Paxton, was scheduled to speak in Corpus Christi before an evening rally in Lubbock. Talarico planned his own Lubbock rally at the Fiesta Center in East Lubbock, less than three miles from Trump's venue. Early voting runs through Friday, 30 October, ahead of polling day on 3 November.

Why Texas matters for Senate control

Republicans currently hold the Senate by 53 seats to 47, so the Texas result will help decide control of the chamber for the final two years of Trump's term. Texas has not elected a Democrat to statewide office since 1994, but USA Today reported the Paxton–Talarico contest as a dead heat in an average of recent polling. Paxton, the state's attorney general, won the Republican nomination after defeating four-term Senator John Cornyn in the primary.

Money and familiar faces on the trail

The race has become one of the most expensive in the country. Federal Election Commission reports cited by USA Today put Talarico's fundraising at more than $146 million through 14 October, against $22 million for Paxton. Outside groups had spent $153 million opposing Talarico and $91 million supporting him. Trump was joined on the trip by former footballers Johnny Manziel, Danny Amendola and Colt McCoy, who were due to travel with him to both cities.

What Trump said about the results

Asked on Tuesday whether he would accept the midterm results regardless of outcome, Trump said: "I will if they're honest elections." He added that, if Democrats took Congress, he would use his veto pen often — a reminder that the Texas outcome reaches well beyond one Senate seat.

Sources: USA Today and Lubbockonline.