It has been a political dream for Democrats for years: Turning Texas, and its 38 Electoral College votes, blue.
Could 2020 be the year that such a progressive dream becomes a reality?
THE POLLS
Polls suggest a close race. Real Clear Politics, which averages recent polls, puts President Donald Trump up by just 0.2% in Texas. A CBS News poll from early July found presumptive Democratic Nominee Joe Biden trailing by just 1 point in the state.
Trump won Texas by more than 800,000 votes in 2016.
RECENT MOVES
On Monday, Biden announced the hiring of six staffers in the state, including senior advisers, a state director and a communications director.
Not every state has a team in place, so the move suggests Team Biden believes it can force Trump to campaign more in Texas.
Biden has also launched digital ads in recent days commemorating the Walmart shooting in El Paso one year ago.
Trump, for his part, visited Texas last week and tweeted about Texas several times.
My visits last week to Texas and Florida had massive numbers of cheering people gathered along the roads and highways, thousands and thousands, even bigger (by far) than the crowds of 2016. Saw no Biden supporters, and yet some in the Fake News said it was an equal number. Sad!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 3, 2020
THE IMPACT
If for some reason Joe Biden was able to turn Texas blue, the election would be effectively over. Texas' 38 electoral college votes combined with California's 55 and New York's 29 would create an insurmountable lead for Biden based on current projections.
