The Presidential Race Comes to Texas

By Matthew Choi, The Texas Tribune

The presidential race comes to Texas on Friday, when both Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are holding rallies and boosting their party’s senate candidates.

Harris will deliver remarks at a rally in Houston, where she’ll focus on abortion and women’s health and flex her star power support with a performance by Beyoncé, according to media reports. Just hours before, Trump will speak to reporters at a private jet terminal in Austin on the border and crime. He's reported to appear on popular podcaster Joe Rogan’s show during a taping in Austin and at a rally in Houston at Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale’s store.

With just 11 days until Election Day, it’s unexpected that the presidential candidates would spend their precious time in Texas, especially after the Harris campaign made it clear Texas was not seen as a battleground state.

However, both parties contend the Senate race will be much more competitive, with U.S. Rep. Colin Allred of Dallas challenging Sen. Ted Cruz in his second reelection bid. Both Allred and Cruz will be with their parties’ candidates during their Friday visits to Texas.

It will be Allred's first time campaigning side by side with Harris this cycle. Allred has been resistant to tying his campaign to Harris’ except for a brief appearance on the main stage at the Democratic National Convention where he expressed his support for her. He will join Harris on stage on Friday discussing abortion access.

Trump stumped for Cruz during his closer-than-expected reelection campaign in 2018, showing unity after the two engaged in an ugly presidential primary only two years prior. The pair spoke together during a fundraiser earlier this month. Cruz also spoke on the main stage of the Republican National Convention this year, praising Trump for his handling of the border.

Texas also provides a key stage to broadcast messages about two of the most prominent issues of the presidential race: abortion and the border.

Democrats have zeroed in on the overturning of nationwide abortion access throughout the campaign, and polling has repeatedly shown it a compelling issue among voters who identify with both parties. Kate Cox and Amanda Zurawski, Texas women whose care for health-compromising pregnancy complications were delayed due to the state’s restrictive abortion laws, have been some of the Harris campaign’s most prominent surrogates.

“Texas has had the most horror stories nationwide,” said Mimi Timmaraju, president of Reproductive Freedom for All and a Houstonian who will be attending the rally. “Coming to Texas and bringing the fight directly to Texas allows the vice president to make her case to the American people.”

Trump’s remarks on the border will lean into what have been a pillar of Republican attacks on Democrats since the beginning of President Joe Biden’s time in office. Texas has also been a key battleground in Republican resistance to the Biden administration’s handling of the southern border. Gov. Greg Abbott has gone head to head with the administration and other Democratic leaders with Operation Lone Star, which used state resources to implement physical barriers along the border and bused migrants to liberal cities farther north.

“Kamala's border bloodbath is putting Texas families in danger and exposing every American to the risks of her dangerous policies,” Trump’s campaign said in a statement. “The only leader who will secure our borders and put Americans first is President Donald J. Trump. The stakes have never been higher.”

Trump’s appearance on Rogan’s show comes as candidates shift toward less conventional platforms to reach voters who may be disillusioned with traditional news media. Rogan’s podcast is among the most popular in the country, with over 14 million followers, according to Spotify data revealed in March.

Harris made an appearance earlier this month on Alex Cooper’s podcast “Call Her Daddy.” The podcast is the second most popular on Spotify, behind “The Joe Rogan Experience.”

Beyoncé’s appearance at Harris’ rally will be one of her most prominent forays into formal politics. The Houston native has previously used her celebrity to highlight issues ranging from women’s rights to racial justice, and she is famously close to and supportive of former President Barack Obama. Her song “Freedom” has been an anthem of the Harris campaign, and the DNC was gripped with rumors that she would make a surprise appearance on the Chicago stage. She did not.

This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/25/kamala-harris-trump-ted-cruz-allred-texas-beyonce-joe-rogan/.