Campaign Context: Democrats appear to be closing the gap in Texas presidential voting
It might not happen this election cycle or the next, but Texas appears to be inching closer to seeing a Democrat at the top of the state's presidential results, furthering the idea of a state transitioning from red to purple.
With campaign season here, politicians are turning up the volume on campaign rhetoric. To cut through the noise, we’re launching Campaign Context, a series providing clarity on the messages you’re hearing from candidates on the campaign trail. We’re digging past the politics and into the facts to provide you with the transparent, spin-free information you need to make informed decisions.
AUSTIN (KXAN) — It might not happen this election cycle or the next, but Texas appears to be inching closer to seeing a Democrat at the top of the state's presidential results, furthering the idea of a state transitioning from red to purple.
The most recent polling from the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin showed Vice President Kamala Harris with 46% of the vote in Texas compared to former President Donald Trump's 51%. If that polling becomes reality, that would put Harris on par with President Joe Biden's finish in Texas, 46% versus Trump's 52%.
But looking at the last nearly-quarter century of statewide results, Democrats have been making gains in Texas. Biden's 2020 performance was 3.5 percentage points higher than Sec. Hillary Clinton's 43% in Texas back in 2016, and Clinton's performance was 2% better than President Barack Obama's 41% in 2012.
Obama fared better in Texas in 2008, coming up with 44% against Sen. John McCain's 56%. Whereas both Sen. John Kerry in 2004 and former Vice President Al Gore in 2000 came up 38% against President George W. Bush.
The last Democrat who came out on top in Texas was Jimmy Carter in 1976.
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