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Top Texas midterm candidates not debating
The top candidates on the Texas Midterm ballot are not debating, but two top party leaders spoke to Battleground Texas on Tuesday.
TEXAS - The top candidates on the Texas Midterm ballot are not debating, but two top party leaders spoke to Battleground Texas on Tuesday.
What they're saying:
The battle for the ballot box is not playing out like most midterm elections. In the final days of early voting, Democrats and Republicans have focused on the campaign trail with multiple rallies across Texas Tuesday.
On the Battleground Texas show on Tuesday afternoon, the discussion was not only about the groundwork being done by the candidates.
FOX4’s Steven Dial also spoke to two top party leaders. Texas Democrat Chair Kendall Scudder and RNC Chair Joe Gruters have different takes on the turnout, the polling and the Trum factor.
"I certainly never thought I'd see Texas being close to this ruby red as it is, but that's what happens in these midterm cycles," said Gruters.
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PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Almost one week until Election Day
November 3 is now just eight days away, and voters across country have their eyes set on the Texas Midterm election. Candidates continued on the campaign trail, looking to secure supporters in an election where every vote could be the difference maker.
Several polls show Texas democrats are leading or close in several key races. But Scudder pointed out those polls do not guarantee victory.
"I know everybody in the political space is supposed to just live on pins and needles and ask what these egghead pollsters think. Um, the only poll that matters is election day and polls don't vote," said Scudder.
Both party leaders noted the return to Texas this week by President Trump and VP Vance.
"The president is a turnout machine. That's what he's done. He's turned out low propensity voters three different times. We think he could do it a fourth time," said Gruters.
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PREVIOUS COVERAGE: 2026 Election: Race for Texas governor
The first week of early voting is wrapping up. In the governor's race, the latest Emerson Poll still has Gov. Abbott in the lead. But some political observers said there's a familiar echo from the past on the campaign trail, and history could be on the verge of repeating itself.
The GOP has had to spend several hundred million dollars in Texas. Scudder noted the expenditure and the early doubts he had about Democrat success in a state considered reliably Red.
"Why even try? Texas is never going to go blue. Well, if that's the case, I don't know why the president and the vice president are spending so much time here," said Scudder.
The prediction of a Blue Wave, indicated by recent polling, does not have Gruters waving a white flag.
"I think that we have a path to win. We just have to turn out our voters. So that's what we're doing right now," said Gruters.
Dig deeper:
Some analysts warn the Texas GOP has to have a big surge in voters now and on election day to avoid political disaster. Scudder downplayed the idea of a Big Blue Wave.
"When we lost the last election by 14 points, I think if we're anywhere closer than that, we're seeing it moving in the right direction. I think we'll be much closer than that. And we're going to put signs and T-posts in the back of my pickup truck and start recruiting for the next one, because we didn't lose Texas overnight. We're not going to win it overnight," said Scudder.
That tone by Scudder could reflect the possibility of an underachieving election night, or is an example of political possum.
The Source: Information from Texas Democrat Chair Kendall Scudder, RNC Chair Joe Gruters, Battleground Texas, previous coverage and reporting by FOX 7 Austin's Rudy Koski