Both presidential candidates to visit Texas Friday as Election Day looms

AUSTIN, Texas — We’re now exactly two weeks away from Election Day and both Vice President Harris and Former President Trump will be making stops in Texas later this week.

Both will be here Friday, with Harris rallying with U.S. Senate Candidate Collin Allred in Houston and Trump visiting Austin to record an interview with Joe Rogan for his popular podcast The Joe Rogan Experience.

Many experts believe seven states will decide who will win the bid for the White House. These are states where the presidential race is so close it’s unclear who will clench the electoral college votes needed to win. Texas is not one of those states, and while some believe the traditionally Red state can be flipped, one political expert I spoke with says either way, Texas is a powerful stage to reach voters in those battleground states.

Travis County GOP Chair Matt Macowiak says the announcement that presidential candidates Kamala Harris AND Donald Trump are coming to Texas is a bit surprising, given how close we are to the election.

“Texas is not a state that either side is competing in at the presidential level,” Macowiak said. “These are the latest visits we’ve had in a very long time among nominees of either party. Generally, the presidential nominees come in Texas to raise money, and that’s about it.”

Travis County Democratic Chair Pooja Sethi is hopeful and believes it’s a sign the historically Republican state can still be flipped.

“People think Texas is not in play, Texas is in play,” Sethi said. “It’s always been in play, and we’ve always treated like it’s been in play.”

Rice University Political Scientist Dr. Mark Jones doesn’t hold the same belief but says Texas could help them reach the seven battleground states many experts believe will decide the election.

“They’re coming to use Texas as a platform to then send back their messages to the key battleground states, Harris on the issue of abortion rights and Trump via the podcast of Joe Rogan,” Jones said.

Vice President Harris will be at the event in Houston that’ll be attended by women affected by the state’s restrictive abortion laws. She’ll be joined by Colin Allred who is challenging Texas Senator Ted Cruz.

“Texas was chosen specifically as an example of what she believes a Trump America would turn into, in regard to abortion rights,” Jones said.

Sethi says reproductive rights are an issue that resonates with voters on both sides of the aisle.

“That’s the country that Trump wants,” Sethi said. “Leave it to the state. Leave it to the state of Texas. We’ve had people die in the state of Texas or be near death.”

Former President Trump will be in Austin at the same time to appear on Joe Rogan’s podcast, which has more than 14.5 million followers on Spotify and more than 17.5 million followers on YouTube.

“There are seven states that are in play, and they’re all on a knife’s edge where each candidate has a realistic prospect of winning in every one of them,” Jones said. “That means that the two candidates are going to be going all out in those battleground states.”

Macowiak thinks his appearance is a smart move, and hopes it will reach younger potential voters.

“Probably not people that have voted consistently in general elections,” Macowiak said. “If Trump can persuade them, he can win some of those votes over and that could be significant.”

Dr. Jones also expects some informal fundraising is likely to take place with both candidates, perhaps quick meetings with big donors and such. No other official campaign stops have been announced by either candidate, but Harris is scheduled to also record a podcast with Texas author Brene Brown.