Why Harris (With Beyoncé in Tow) Is Heading to Solidly Red Texas
“Vice President Kamala Harris might have traveled on Friday to Philadelphia or Milwaukee for the umpteenth time, but motivating tuned-out voters in battleground states required something different.
So her campaign engineered a trip to Houston — the largest city in Texas, decidedly not a presidential battleground state — where she would be joined at a rally by Beyoncé and the country music legend Willie Nelson, both beloved natives of the state. Their ability to transcend traditional politics, Harris aides hope, will deliver the sort of viral content that cuts through a cluttered media environment.
Ms. Harris’s rally in Houston will focus on the strict abortion ban enacted in Texas after the overturning of Roe v. Wade, and is meant to offer a warning about the potential spread of such restrictions to voters in faraway states who will soon decide this year’s presidential election.
In short, the Harris team wants to put what happens deep in the heart of Texas on display for the whole country to see.”
Democrats Keep the Dream Alive in Texas
“Earlier this year, organizers and strategists were not hopeful that the perennial Democratic dream of flipping Texas blue — as it was in the 1990s, before Republicans began dominating in rural areas and small towns — could come true this year. Many of those working behind the scenes were playing a longer game. Much of the organizing going on now, particularly in the Soros-backed groups, had been aimed at building databases and voter outreach networks to win soon, if not necessarily this year.
“Sometime in the next four to eight years,” said Katherine Fischer, who has been leading a new political action committee, Texas Majority PAC, that is the main vehicle for the Soros contributions.
But in recent weeks, a tightening in the polls for the U.S. Senate race, with Senator Ted Cruz leading by only a few points over the Democrat, Representative Colin Allred, has rekindled the old hopes.”