Democratic supporters filed into a conference room at the Abilene Public Library South Branch, where eight candidates were seated at the front of the room.
With Texans set to elect statewide officials, state lawmakers and members of Congress this November, candidates have been working to build support in communities across West Texas.
So far, the eight candidates have traveled to Lubbock, Plainview and Big Spring, with Abilene serving as the final stop on the South Plains Swing Tour.
One of those candidates is Kyle Rable, who is running to represent Texas' 19th Congressional District in the U.S. House —a district that includes Abilene and parts of West Texas.
"I think that Abilene gets looked over a little bit too much," Rable said.
For Rable, Abilene has been a regular stop on his campaign trail.
"I started coming over here, coming out to Abilene over a year ago before I even launched a campaign to learn more about Taylor County and Abilene-ers," Rable said. "And I'm so excited to see how it's grown over the whole year that I've been running my race and see the amount of people and passion that is. We need to keep that up, because the future is so important."
Many of the candidates centered their campaigns on the same concerns: public education, affordability, health care and the rapid growth of AI data centers across Texas.
Large data centers require millions of gallons of water each day for cooling, and their growth has raised questions about water availability in some Texas communities.
State Rep. Vikki Goodwin, the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor, said she has been struck by how the issue of data centers is resonating with West Texas voters.
"Nowadays, with the data centers and the huge, vast amounts of water that they use, people are really coming out," Goodwin said. "They're going to their city councils, county commissioner hearings, and now they're even signing petitions. And so, I've been surprised at how important that issue has become."
Goodwin recently called on Gov. Greg Abbott to schedule a special legislative session to address what she called the "growing data center" crisis.
For attendees like Alexandra Garcia, the event was about finding community and becoming more involved locally.
"I felt very supportive," Garcia said. "I felt like I was able to find a community that I been struggling to find in all my years here, and like that it's really now flourishing. It's really beautiful to see, especially the many faces that consistently show up, and then there's even new faces, you know, so it's a growing community, and it's really nice."
Garcia, 24, said that sense of community is why she hopes more young adults get involved in local politics.
"There's no better time than now," Garcia said. "Stop waiting around until it gets worse for you specifically. It's nice to just build that up with time, because this is only really the beginning, it seems like."
Goodwin and the other candidates echoed that message, encouraging younger Texans to stay engaged.
"The state-level government has an impact on your daily life, whether it is through funding our schools, our education system, whether it is where you get your health care and that whole system, affordability," Goodwin said. "All of these things are impacted by legislators."
Whether Monday night's conversations will translate into votes won't be known until Nov. 3, when Abilene residents can head to the polls. Regardless, Monday's event gave West Texans a chance to hear directly from Democratic candidates seeking some of the state's most influential offices.