AUSTIN, Texas – Election Day is now less than two weeks away and early voters across the country have started casting their ballots.
This week, both presidential candidates are making their way to Texas hoping to gain the support of voters.
On Friday, Oct. 25, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris will arrive in Texas to inform voters of their agenda if selected as the 2024 President of the United States,
It’s a different approach compared to the last presidential election, according to St. Edwards University Political Science professor Brian Smith.
“At this point, historically, candidates avoid Texas. Democrats look and say we are going to lose. It is not worth our time and money to go there. Republicans saywe are going to win. It is not worth our time and money going to a place we already have in the bag. Showing up in Texas this late in the electoral season shows something about the competitiveness in the state,” says St. Edwards University Political Science professor Brian Smith.
The candidates will be in different cities on the same day. Vice President Kamala Harris is scheduled to hold a rally in Houston.
“For the vice president, she is going to Harris County, which has the greatest concentration of Democratic voters in the state. If she is going to win the election, she has to come to Texas and mobilize voters, and it is voting season, so the more early votes she gets from those big urban areas like Harris County the better she will do on election day,” says Smith.
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On Friday, Former President Donald Trump is expected to be in Austin to appear on Joe Rogan’s podcast.
“It is a podcast that reaches out to Trump voters. What he is hoping is an hour-long podcast that will produce multiple hours of free media coverage based upon what he says. For Trump, this is really a layover, kind of pit stop,” says Smith.
Early voting is currently underway until November 1. As of Tuesday, Oct. 22, nearly 10% of Texans have voted.
“We know that early turnouts have been very high, but it is always for presidential elections people have had four years to finally cast their vote for somebody that they already know who they are going to vote for,” says Smith.
After the stop in Texas, the candidates are scheduled to visit the more competitive states to gain voter support.
