Why are Kamala Harris and the Democrats so focused on Texas?

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The final stops in the final weeks of a presidential campaign are often saved for key battleground states, a final attempt by a candidate to make his case with swing voters whose ballots could ultimately decide the election. But less than two weeks before Election Day, Vice President Kamala Harris and the Democratic Party have at least some of their sights set on a less friendly territory: Texas.

On Tuesday, the Harris-Walz campaign announced that the vice president would travel to Houston on Friday, where she would attend a rally for Colin Allred, the Democratic congressman from Texas who is challenging Sen. Ted Cruz for his seat. The announcement was bolstered by news on Thursday that Beyoncé, the international superstar, is expected to perform alongside Harris at the event. The Houston native previously gave the campaign permission to use her song “Freedom” as Harris' de facto theme song.

The event is part of the Harris campaign and the Democratic Party's goal to highlight the issue of abortion and reproductive rights – one that they say could be key to victory in November. Harris' visit is expected to focus on abortion rights, a central theme of the campaign and of particular importance to the state, which implemented a strict ban on the procedure after the U.S. Supreme Court was overturned roe v. Wade. Ahead of the trip, the Harris campaign released a new ad focused on a Texas woman who miscarried and nearly died of sepsis due to the state's abortion ban:

Senate Majority PAC, the Democratic Party-aligned group, announced Thursday that it would invest $5 million in the Texas Senate race. The funds will finance a 30-second commercial for Cruz featuring an emergency room physician discussing the impact of the state's abortion ban. According to PAC, the ad will begin airing Friday in the Houston, Dallas and San Antonio media markets.

The goal of flipping a key Texas seat has long been out of reach for the Democratic Party. The state has not supported a Democratic presidential candidate since Jimmy Carter in 1976, and no Democrat has won statewide since 1994. But the party hasn't stopped trying. In 2018, Congressman Beto O'Rourke decided not to seek re-election in return for challenging Cruz for the Senate, losing by a narrow margin of two points. In 2022, O'Rourke tried his luck again by seeking the governor's seat, but fell to incumbent Greg Abbott. Although Cruz is still considered the favorite to win a third term in the Senate, recent polls have shown him to be in a tight race, with Allred currently outperforming the senator, according to Texas tribune.