Out Of The Blue? Trump, Biden In Tight Race In Traditionally Republican Texas

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Out of the Blue? Trump, Biden in Tight Race in Traditionally Republican Texas

The battleground state of Texas, which has not voted for a Democratic candidate in 45 years, is witnessing a tight race between incumbent US President Donald Trump and his Democratic rival Joe Biden amid record early voting turnout and a worsening coronavirus crisis in the Lone Star State

EL PASO (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 31st October, 2020) The battleground state of Texas, which has not voted for a Democratic candidate in 45 years, is witnessing a tight race between incumbent US President Donald Trump and his Democratic rival Joe Biden amid record early voting turnout and a worsening coronavirus crisis in the Lone Star State.

Trump, who won Texas with a nine percent advantage in 2016, currently leads only by 2.3 percent as of Friday afternoon, according to the poll aggregator Reaclearpolitics.com.

On Friday morning, data from the Texas Secretary of State revealed that the number of ballots cast in Texas during the early voting period for the upcoming presidential election has reached nine million and surpassed the total number of ballots cast in the state during the 2016 election.

A potential change of heart became evident in 2018, when Democrat Beto O'Rourke lost narrowly to Republican Senator Ted Cruz.

The Latino vote will be important in this year's election considering that the Hispanic population in Texas has grown substantially between 2010 and 2018 - Hispanics account for 52.23 percent of the total population increase in Texas between that time period, according to the Texas Demographic Center (TDC).

Hispanics make up 40 percent of the population in Texas compared to 38 percent in 2010, data from the TDC showed.

A Quinnipiac Poll survey published on October 21 showed that 51 percent of Hispanics in Texas favor Biden while 43 percent back Trump. The poll also found that most Texans disapprove of Trump's handling of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic but a majority approve of his job overall as US president.

Trump has been criticized by the Hispanic community for using anti-immigration rhetoric when discussing the flows of Central American and Mexican migrants coming to the United States.

On August 3, 2019, 21-year-old Patrick Crusius killed 22 people and wounded more than 20 others when he opened fire in a Walmart shopping center in El Paso. Crusius admitted that he had intentionally targeted Mexican nationals, according to a police report. Most of the victims were Hispanic Americans.

Texas is experiencing a surge in cases statewide, just like most of the country, but the worst health crisis is clearly evident in the city of El Paso, where area hospitals have reached full capacity, requiring state and Federal agencies to set up field hospitals and provide up to 900 additional medical professionals in the city to deal with the overflow.

The US president has repeatedly downplayed the COVID-19 pandemic, even after he contracted the disease, however it did not affect his support among local residents, and some of them even think his recent diagnosis and fast recovery will help Trump's chances of re-election.

"I think Trump handled the COVID situation well, aside from saying stupid things like the Kung Flu and telling people not to wear a mask," Grijalva told Sputnik.

"Optimism was what I felt after seeing him recover so quickly," Rober told Sputnik. "The drug he was administered was just approved by the FDA for distribution to hospitals. I think it helped his chances. People want hope and optimism and I think we can all agree, no matter the party line and politics, everybody wants Covid to go away so we can get back to everyday life."

Texas voters who talked to Sputnik were not influenced to change their vote after watching the two presidential debates between Trump and Biden.

"I don't think overall, debates have a measurable impact," Steven Lettunich, of Clint, Texas, told Sputnik. "Supporters from both sides tend to view their candidate as the winner. And the way they talk over each other turns most undecided [voters] away."

Andrew Lopez, of the Houston metroplex area, said the debates also had no impact on his vote.

"I was already pretty set with where my vote was going and I do not think the debates change peoples vote," Lopez told Sputnik. "I think it's a show for the most part at this point.

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Ashley Grijalva who lives in Midland, Texas, told Sputnik that Biden did not impress her enough in the debates to win her vote.

"I feel like Biden's responses are not genuine and it seems like he had all the right political answers memorized and he kept forgetting words," Grijalva said.

Ronald Rober, of the Dallas metroplex area, said Biden lacks the leadership skills and charisma to be US president.

Rober also mentioned some pointers that could help Trump become more likable among US voters.

"While looking at Trump, his ego is his weakness," Rober said. "If he would just stay off of social media, increase his vocabulary, and use better choice words when he's tested he would be great. He's delivered on the majority of his previous campaign promises while looking at the economy, immigration, justice reform, and foreign policy. Even with all the distractions, he's done a pretty good job keeping our country running."

Texas voters expect civil unrest to unfold the days after the US election on November 3, but for the most part they are not concerned it will affect Texas considering it is an open-carry state and has a high-rate of gun ownership.

Civil unrest has become common this year in the United States, the first major riot erupted in the city of Minneapolis after African-American man George Floyd died while in police custody on May 25. Since then riots have also broken out in the cites of Portland, Kenosha, Philadelphia, Louisville, Washington, DC, New York City, among others.

The protests have put American conservatives and liberals against each other on the streets, sometimes leading to fatal incidents.

"I do believe that his [Trump's] ego has helped fuel the divide in our country, but I also believe he's just one piece to the 1000-piece puzzle," Rober said.

However, Rober said he believes potential civil unrest after November 3 will erupt in protests of COVID-19 restrictions placed on US communities.

"When Donald Trump wins there will be a brief resurgence of rioting and looting, top Democrats have promised as much," Lettunich said. "If the election is contested it will prolong the riots. We don't have to worry about riots in Texas."

Lopez said he believes riots will erupt no matter who wins the presidential election.

"Regardless of who is chosen I think its going to be a turbulent 2021," Lopez said. "Everyone is incredibly entrenched in their political views and it's at a boiling point now with no one willing to give an inch in their view or how they listen. Yes, people have been buying guns in spurts in reaction to just about any political issue that arises. Especially BLM [Black Lives Matter] protests."

The pandemic is preventing Texas voters from heading to the polls, but some did express concern over potential mail-in voting fraud issues in this election.

"I'm not confident about the whole mail-in voting thing," Grijalva said. "I think this is something that can be manipulated and hidden."

Lettunich said, "Mail-in voter fraud is and has been a serious issue in some parts of the country for a long time."

Trump has repeatedly claimed that widespread mail-in voting could result in significant election fraud and has pointed to recent problems in local elections in New York, New Jersey and other places. The Democrats have said Trump's claims are unfounded.

Lopez said he has confidence the outcome of the US election will be accurate, but his main concern is that there will be no peaceful transition of power if Trump loses.

"I'm more scared that if Trump [loses] he won't relinquish power or his base will call foul," Lopez said. "He's been creating his air of distrust on the premise, 'if I don't win it's fraud' and that is scary."

Texas was a Democratic state from the time it established its independence in 1836 up to the presidential election in 1952, but the Republican Party began to dominate in presidential elections starting in 1980.