Early voting in Texas started on Monday and will run through Oct. 30. Voters are heading to the polls to decide the Senate race, which could shift party control. Candidates Ken Paxton and James Talarico are holding daily events across the state as campaigns work to get many supporters out.
Early voting in Texas, where the outcome of the Senate race could determine which party controls the chamber, will run through Oct. 30.
The time has finally come: Texans can begin casting ballots on Monday, and their early votes will help determine whether a prospective Democratic revival nationwide will upend three decades of statewide Republican rule.
Most votes in Texas tend to be cast early, with 80 percent coming before Election Day in 2024 and about two-thirds in 2022, according to state election data. That means campaigns will be hustling to get their supporters to the polls from now until Oct. 30, when the state's early voting period ends.
The candidates in the Senate race -- Ken Paxton, the Republican, and James Talarico, the Democrat -- have already begun statewide tours, and will be holding events around the state almost daily through Election Day.
On Monday night, the candidates are set to hold dueling rallies in Fort Worth, underscoring the importance of the city and surrounding Tarrant County. Mr. Paxton and his Republican supporters are looking to mobilize their voters in an area of the state where Democrats have been making inroads recently, while Mr. Talarico and his party see the county, a swingy area in recent elections, as crucial to any statewide victory.
But by now both candidate's faces and voices have been seared into the eyes (and ears) of Texas, thanks to the more than half a billion dollars that have been spent on television advertising already. Much of the spending has come late in the race, and a huge portion of it has been financed by one man, Elon Musk, to benefit one candidate, Mr. Paxton.
Subscribe to The Times to read as many articles as you like.