WASHINGTON — In the biggest statewide race in Texas, both Senate contenders got a boost with their party’s presidential candidates joining them on the campaign trail in the Lone Star State. But just how much will the appearances of Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump help down the ballot?

What You Need To Know

  • Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump joined their parties' respective Senate candidates on the campaign trail in Texas, highlighting the significance of the race between Sen. Ted Cruz and Rep. Colin Allred

  • The Democrats focused on reproductive rights, while the Republicans discussed border security, both trying to maximize voter turnout in the state's shifting demographics

  • While Cruz is ahead in the polls, Allred is within the margin of error, and both parties see the Texas race as one that could decide control of the Senate
 

Four years ago, Trump beat Joe Biden in Texas by less than 6 percentage points but lost the Electoral College.

Polls show Trump is likely to take the Lone Star State again this year as he faces Harris. But that did not stop Harris from heading to Texas’ most populous county last week, and she packed a punch of star power.

Meanwhile, Trump came to Austin, where he met with supporters and taped a three-hour conversation with the nation’s top podcaster, Joe Rogan.

As much as the presidential candidates highlighted key issues — immigration for Trump and reproductive rights for Harris — some analysts say the political effects of the dueling visits on the Senate race between Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Rep. Colin Allred, D-Dallas, can’t be ignored.

“Texas is definitely becoming a state that is more of a battleground state in a lot of ways, and because of that, we should expect that Texas is going to be, always, one of the most expensive Senate races and one of the most competitive,” said Brian Smith, a political science professor at St. Edward’s University.

Both Cruz and Allred made appearances at the presidential candidates’ stops in Texas last week.

“I want to thank Vice President Harris for coming to Texas, for shining a light of what’s happening to Texas families and Texas women,” Allred said Friday at the rally in Houston.

“When Donald Trump was president, he and I worked hand in hand. We achieved historic success securing the border,” Cruz told reporters in Austin.

Analysts say the presidential candidates were in Texas to get voters to the polls, not only for themselves, but for their respective Senate candidates.

Six years ago, Cruz defeated former Rep. Beto O’Rourke by less than 3 percentage points, about 219,000 votes. Today, Texas has a record 18,623,931 registered voters.

While polls have shown that Cruz is ahead, Allred has consistently been within the margin of error.

“2018 was so close, because the polls had Cruz with a bigger lead, and it ended up being a smaller lead. So Ted Cruz needs President Trump’s support, because here in Texas, Trump is running ahead of Cruz,” Smith said.

Analysts say Harris’ visit to Texas also signals national Democrats’ interest in picking up the state in an effort to maintain control of the Senate. Texas’ demographics are changing. Compared to other states, it’s younger and more diverse, and Democrats are trying to make inroads.

“If you’re the Democrats, you just cannot let this state go without a challenge, and it’s because the state is changing,” Smith said.

“It’s all about voter mobilization. If Allred is going to win and the Democrats are going to keep the Senate, it means by maximizing turnout,” he continued.

A Democrat has not won statewide in Texas in 30 years. The last Democratic presidential candidate to win Texas was Jimmy Carter in 1976.