This browser does not support the Video element.
Trump, Harris continue closing push
PREVIUS COVERAGE: Donald Trump and Kamala Harris were in the same state again for competing rallies. Polls show the two candidates are even nationwide.
null - A Texas Democrat has not won a statewide office in 30 years and for a Democratic presidential candidate to win the state, that drought is even longer.
Democrats in 1994 successfully defended the offices of Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Comptroller of Public Accounts, Treasurer, General Land Office Commissioner and a state Supreme Court seat.
However, the party lost the governor's office that year when George W. Bush defeated incumbent Ann Richards by nearly eight percentage points.
The nearly 30 years since a Democrat has held a statewide office in Texas is the nation's longest current losing streak.
When was the last time Texas elected a Democratic senator?
Sen. Bob Krueger, D-Tex. shaking hands with Vice President Al Gore, in Old Seante Chamber, while Krueger's wife, Kathleen Krueger, looks on. Jan 25, 1993. (Photo by Laura Patterson/CQ Roll Call via Getty Images)"n
A Texas Democrat hasn't been in the United States Senate since 1993 when Robert Krueger was appointed to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of Lloyd Millard Bentsen. Krueger's tenure in the Senate would last just five months when he lost a special election to Kay Bailey Hutchison for the remainder of Bentsen's term.
Hutchinson held the position until 2013, opting not to seek reelection during the 2012 elections. Ted Cruz would win the Republican primary and later the general election to replace Hutchinson that year.
Bentsen had served in the Senate since winning the 1970 election. Bentsen resigned from the Senate in 1993 to become Secretary of Treasury under President Bill Clinton.
Eyes across the country are on the Senate race between Cruz and Colin Allred.
Ted Cruz-Colin Allred: Where the candidates stand on the issues
The race for Texas' US Senate between incumbent Ted Cruz and challenger Colin Allred has tightened in recent weeks. Here is what each candidate has said about issues Texans say are the most important.
Democrats have seen this race as one they believe they can win, with a recent poll from Emerson College showing Cruz's lead over Allred at just over one percentage point.
Money has poured into the race, making it the most expensive Senate race on election ballots with more than $166 million raised by the candidates.
Cruz is no stranger to defending his seat against a strong fundraising opponent. In 2018, Cruz defeated Beto O'Rouke despite being out raised and out spent by the challenger. Cruz would defeat O'Rourke by just 2.56 percentage points.
The close race between Cruz and O'Rourke was the first time a Republican had failed to win a Senate race by more than 10 percentage points.
In 2020, John Cornyn defeated Democratic challenger Mary Hegar by 9.64 percent.
When was the last time a Democratic presidential candidate won Texas?
ATLANTA -NOVEMBER 1976; President Jimmy Carter celebrates election night victory over Gerald Ford at the Hyatt Hotel in Atlanta January 1977; (Photo by Nik Wheeler/Corbis via Getty Images)
The last time a Democratic presidential candidate carried the state in an election, you would need to go back to 1976.
That's when Jimmy Carter defeated Gerald Ford by 3.16 percent. Carter would lose Texas by 13.86 points in 1980 against Ronald Reagan.
In 2020, Donald Trump won in Texas by just 5.58 percentage points. The race was the closest presidential race in Texas since 1996 when Republican Bob Dole carried Texas over incumbent Democrat Bill Clinton by 4.93 percent.