This story is a part of a sequence of state-by-state previews of the 2024 election.
Democrats in Texas will as soon as once more wait on Election Day to seek out out whether or not that is the yr they will win a statewide race after three many years of shedding to Republicans.
They’re pinning their hopes on the U.S. Senate, the place Republican incumbent Ted Cruz faces a problem from U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, a former NFL linebacker and civil rights lawyer who flipped a aggressive U.S. Home seat to take workplace in 2018.
RELATED STORY: Ted Cruz blames his shut Senate race on Mitch McConnell
With so many Democrats defending Senate seats nationwide, Texas is without doubt one of the solely states the place a Republican senator is in a aggressive race. Spending on the competition has topped $100 million, in line with AdImpact, which tracks advert spending—swamping the cash spent on the presidential election in Texas.
It’s been 30 years since Democrats received a statewide race within the Lone Star State, however that is not for lack of effort. In 2002, Democrats have been excited to run a “dream team” of candidates for Senate, governor, and lieutenant governor in hopes that the racially various ticket would harness a brand new era of Texas voters who might flip the state. They did not.
Extra just lately, in 2018, Democrat Beto O’Rourke broke fundraising data in his race in opposition to Cruz. He misplaced. Two years later, Democrats hoped that M.J. Hegar would construct upon O’Rourke’s momentum to defeat Sen. John Cornyn. She misplaced, too.
No Democrat has received Texas in a presidential election since Jimmy Carter in 1976, though Invoice Clinton ran shut in three-way contests in each 1992 and 1996. A sudden win in Texas for Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris would all however finish Republican Donald Trump’s bid to return to the White Home.
Texas has 38 U.S. Home seats, however solely three districts—all in South Texas—are thought-about aggressive.
Within the state’s twenty eighth Congressional District, Democratic U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar seeks reelection following his indictment on prices of bribery and cash laundering earlier this yr. Within the close by thirty fourth District, Democratic U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez faces Republican Mayra Flores in a rematch of a 2022 contest that Gonzalez received by about 9 proportion factors. Within the Rio Grande Valley, Republican Rep. Monica De La Cruz will once more face 2022 Democratic nominee Michelle Vallejo within the fifteenth District.
RELATED STORY: Former Rep. Mayra Flores accused of cribbing others’ photos of Mexican meals as her personal cooking
The Related Press doesn’t make projections and can declare a winner solely when it has decided there isn’t a state of affairs that may enable the trailing candidates to shut the hole. If a race hasn’t been referred to as, the AP will proceed to cowl any newsworthy developments, like candidate concessions or declarations of victory. In doing so, the AP will clarify it hasn’t declared a winner and clarify why.
Right here’s a take a look at what to anticipate within the 2024 election in Texas:
Election Day
Nov. 5.
Ballot closing time
8 p.m. and 9 p.m. E.T. Texas covers two time zones, so many of the state will begin reporting outcomes whereas some voters in a number of western counties are casting ballots till 9 p.m. ET.
Presidential electoral votes
40 awarded to statewide winner.
Key races and candidates
President: Harris (D) vs. Trump (R) vs. Chase Oliver (Libertarian) vs. Jill Stein (Inexperienced).
U.S. Senate: Colin Allred (D) vs. Ted Cruz (R) and one different.
RELATED STORY: Ted Cruz lies about ‘bipartisan’ document as Texas Senate race tightens
Different races of curiosity
U.S. Home, state Senate, state Home, state Supreme Court docket, Legal Appeals Court docket, railroad commissioner, state Board of Schooling.
Previous presidential outcomes
2020: Trump (R) 52%, Biden (D) 47%, AP race name: Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2020, 1:06 a.m. ET.
Voter registration and turnout
Registered voters: 18,623,931 (as of November 2024).
Voter turnout in Nov. 2020: 67% of registered voters.
Pre-Election Day voting
Votes solid earlier than Election Day 2020: about 87% of the overall vote.
Votes solid earlier than Election Day 2022: about 68% of the overall vote.
Votes solid earlier than Election Day 2024: See AP Advance Vote tracker.
How lengthy does vote-counting take?
First votes reported, Nov. 3, 2020: 8 p.m. ET
By midnight ET: about 91% of whole votes solid have been reported.
