Texas Races Down to the Wire: Talarico 49, Paxton 47 and Abbott 50, Hinojosa 47 in the Final TSU Poll, With San Antonio a Sunday Battleground
With less than 48 hours before Election Day, a Texas Southern University survey puts both top Texas races inside three points — and Sunday night both the governor's race and the Senate race came to San Antonio, where James Talarico told supporters more than $300 million has been spent to stop his campaign.
Texas goes into its final two days with both top races effectively tied. A study by Texas Southern University's Barbara Jordan–Mickey Leland School of Public Affairs shows Republican Governor Greg Abbott leading Democratic challenger Gina Hinojosa 50 percent to 47 percent for governor, with 2 percent for Libertarian Pat Dixon, and Democrat James Talarico edging Republican Ken Paxton 49 percent to 47 percent for the U.S. Senate, with 3 percent for Libertarian Ted Brown, FOX 7 Austin reported.
San Antonio was Sunday night's battleground for both races. Campaigning in San Antonio, Hinojosa framed public schools as an economic anchor and a constitutional priority: 'They're the largest employer in so many of our counties, they are enshrined in our Texas constitution as being essential for the preservation of liberties,' she said, per FOX 7. Rallying supporters in San Antonio the same night, Talarico pointed to the outside money in the Senate race: 'They have already spent more than $300 million to try to stop us. That is the most of any Senate race in American history, and more is on the way,' he told the crowd.
The Republicans closed on their own terms. Abbott, contrasting his record with Hinojosa's legislative votes, said: 'Listen, I want to cut your taxes. My opponent voted for an income tax, she voted for an inheritance tax, she voted for property tax increases 40 times,' per FOX 7. Paxton, at a Georgetown stop over the weekend, framed the outcome nationally: 'This isn't just red versus blue; it's the America our founders gave us versus something that they would never recognize. We lose Texas, we lose America,' he said. Across both campaigns the closing message was the same, FOX 7 reported: turnout decides it. Texas polls run Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
