Why Are Kamala Harris and Democrats So Focused on Texas?

Photo: Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call/ Getty Images

The final stops in the waning weeks of a presidential campaign are often saved for those crucial battleground states, one last attempt for a candidate to make their case to swing voters whose ballots could ultimately determine the election. But with less than two weeks to go before Election Day, Vice-President Kamala Harris and the Democratic Party have at least partly set their sights on less friendly territory: Texas.

On Tuesday, the Harris-Walz campaign announced that the vice-president would be traveling to Houston on Friday, where she would be joined at a rally by Colin Allred, the Democratic Texas congressman challenging Senator Ted Cruz for his seat. The announcement was bolstered by reporting on Thursday that Beyoncé, international superstar, is expected to appear alongside Harris at the event. The Houston native previously granted the campaign permission to use her song “Freedom” as Harris’s de facto theme song.

The event is part of Harris campaign and Democratic Party’s goal to highlight the issue of abortion and reproductive rights — one that they feel might be the key to victory in November. Harris’s visit is intended to be focused on abortion rights, a key issue of the campaign and one of particular significance to the state which instituted a strict ban on the procedure after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Ahead of the trip, the Harris campaign unveiled a new ad focused on a Texas woman who miscarried and nearly died of sepsis as a result of the state’s ban on abortion:

New ad from the Harris campaign on reproductive freedom, ahead of the VP’s speech in Texas on Friday. This is a very tough one to watch, but it’s incredibly important to. Thank you so much to Ondrea and Ceasar for trusting us to share their story. pic.twitter.com/ytJQg2ONiv

— Lauren Hitt (@LaurenHitt) October 23, 2024

Senate Majority PAC, the Democratic Party–aligned group, announced Thursday that it would be making a $5 million investment in the Texas Senate race. The funding will be backing a 30-second ad targeting Cruz featuring an emergency physician discussing the repercussions of the state’s abortion ban. Per the PAC, the ad will begin airing in the Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio media markets on Friday.

The goal of flipping any major seat in Texas has long been an elusive one for the Democratic Party. The state hasn’t backed a Democratic candidate for president since Jimmy Carter in 1976 and a Democrat hasn’t won statewide since 1994. But the party hasn’t stopped trying. In 2018, Congressman Beto O’Rourke eschewed running for reelection in exchange for challenging Cruz for the Senate, losing by a slim two-point margin. O’Rourke tried his luck once again in 2022 by seeking the governor’s seat, only to fall to incumbent Greg Abbott. Though Cruz is still favored to win a third term in the Senate, recent polling has shown him locked in a tight race, with Allred currently out-raising the senator, per the Texas Tribune.

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